


Drabbles for Cobra Kai Collection

by Jules1980



Category: Cobra Kai, Karate Kid
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-20
Updated: 2020-02-05
Packaged: 2020-05-15 09:48:22
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 20
Words: 21,747
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19293256
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jules1980/pseuds/Jules1980
Summary: "Stay With Me Tonight" (Stay here tonight)"It's Late.  Shouldn't you be asleep?""Just breathe, okay?""How can you ask me that?"“All I Wanted Was For You To Be Happy.”“I’ve waited for this moment for a long time.”“I love you, please don’t go.”“Shouldn’t You Be With Him/Her?”“You look like you could use a hug.”"Why are you crying?"“Who cares about what they think?”“You’ve been drinking tonight, haven’t you?”“Who Hurt You?”“I got you.”“What the hell were you thinking?”"Why me?"“Don’t you love me?”“Don’t cry.”“Fine.”“Excuse me.”"Dance with me.""Trust me."





	1. Stay With Me Tonight? (Stay here tonight.) Becca/Bobby

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Rynnsama](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rynnsama/gifts), [TheEmpressAR](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheEmpressAR/gifts), [TheLadyDisdain](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheLadyDisdain/gifts).



for [@thatsweetbobbyfacetho](https://tmblr.co/m9m4WQzQ0htwKNdxnmOT9dA)  The Big Bear Trip continues….

**Stay With Me Tonight**

Pairing BobbyX Becca  

Not sure if I did it right, but this is what the muses wanted.

Becca wasn’t exactly sure how she’d gotten herself in this standoff with Dutch.  She’d just congratulated Jimmy for beating him at pool.  Jimmy never won anything; you’d think Dutch could let him be the winner once.

“You think you can do better?” he repeated, holding out the pool cue.

“Well, considering how badly you just got beat, it can’t be that hard,” she replied, refusing to back down.

“Oh, really?” he smirked. “Then you won’t mind making a bet on it. Put your money where your mouth is?”

She shrugged, “Sure. What do you have in mind?”

“Dutch, back off,” Bobby warned.

He ignored him, stepping closer to Becca.  “Your room.”

“You want my room?” Becca asked, confused.

“If you lose, I take your room and you sleep in my room with Bobby.”

“Dutch!” Bobby snapped, but Becca held her hand up.   What was in this for Dutch?  Barbara. She was sharing a room with Barbara and he wanted to sleep with Barbara.  Both had already bemoaned the sleeping arrangements.

“Well, I think you’re overly concerned about Bobby’s sex life but fine,” Becca replied.  “What do I get if I win?”

Dutch faltered.  It was obvious he’d never thought she’d agree. “What do you want?”

She folded her arms over her chest and thought for a moment.  It had to be something that was going to hurt Dutch’s ego.  Anything material, Mr. Van Dijk would just buy him another. She smiled, “Cobra Kai Jacket. If I beat you, I get the jackets.”

“Fine.  You win, then you can have my jacket,” he shot back.

“Not just your jacket,” she clarified.  “Everyone’s jacket.  If I win, you lose everyone’s jackets.”

“I’m not letting you bet my jacket,” Johnny spoke up.  “Sid’ll kill me if I lose it again.”

“Relax, Johnny,” Dutch said. “She won’t win.  I just saw Bobby teaching her how to play this afternoon. And I want to see if the Princess will keep her word when she loses.  If she has it in her to disobey  _Mommy and Daddy_.”  He turned back to Becca.  “Fine. Everyone’s jacket.”

“Then not you, Dutch,” Johnny spoke up again.  “You suck. Bobby, you do it.  You’re the best.”

“Fine with me,” she answered.  “Good for you?” She looked at Bobby.

He nodded, relieved. He wasn’t going to let Dutch do this anyway, so he could just lose if need be, and hope Dutch dropped the subject. He walked over and picked up a cue.

She took the cue Dutch held out again.  “Thank you,” she replied, leaning against the table to break knocking three balls in with her opening shot.  “Oh, look, three went in.  Lucky shot, I guess.”  She smirked as the boys’ eyes grew wide and the girls cheered.

Bobby’s shock turned to a proud grin as he watched Becca walk around the table sinking every shot she lined up.  Purposely losing wasn’t going to be necessary.  Dutch was never going to live this one down.  He didn’t even care that he’d gotten dragged into it and was technically the one losing.   He threw his cue on the table and wrapped his arms around Becca’s waist as the eight-ball disappeared into a corner pocket.

“Don’t mess with my girl, Dutch,” he laughed, kissing her cheek, then stepped back to remove his jacket.

“But I saw Bobby teaching you to play pool this afternoon,” Dutch shook his head, bewildered as the other guys groaned.

“Sid’s going to kill me,” Johnny muttered, slapping the back of Dutch’s head as he handed over his.

“No, you saw us playing,” Becca replied with a smirk, taking the jackets.  “And assumed I didn’t know.  Because girls don’t know how to play pool, right?   _Daddy_  taught me how to play pool a long time ago.”

“You  _hustled_  me,” Dutch complained, ripping his jacket off and handing it over.

“Just like you were trying to do to me,” she nodded, taking the jacket.  “Thank you.”

* * *

 

“So why did you let me think I was teaching you how to play pool this afternoon?” Bobby laughed, as they sat on the deck later that night.

“Because you were so cute, and the way you were holding me wasn’t so bad either,” she smiled.

He laughed.  “Okay, so pool shark.  What other games should I avoid with you?”

“Well, if I tell you, then I won’t be able to beat you at them.”  She snuggled in his arms, turning her head to kiss him.  They pulled apart when the front door slammed to see Johnny and Ali heading back over to the Mills’ cabin.

“Hey, Johnny,” Becca called, picking his jacket up off the deck and tossing it to him.  “I didn’t want your jacket.  Just to shut Dutch up.”

It was as if a weight had lifted off the blonde boy as he caught the jacket.  He looked up and grinned, “Well, you certainly did that. Did Sensei really teach you how to play pool?  I didn’t know he knew how to do that.”

“Well, him and my Uncle, and Grandpa.  There’s not much else to do on an Army base if you aren’t on duty,” she replied.  

“Cool,” Johnny said, putting the jacket on and zipping it up.  “Thanks.”

She nodded.  “Tell Jimmy and Tommy to come to get theirs if you see them.  I’ll give Dutch his back tomorrow.”

“Yeah, I will,” he replied, rubbing his hands over the sleeves as if he had already written it off and the bawling out he was going to get for it, in.

“Thank you,” Ali mouthed as they walked away, hand in hand.

“You know he’s been worried about that all evening,” Bobby said, softly.

“Is his stepdad really that bad?”  She’d never met Johnny’s stepdad, but his mom was always sweet.

“He can be,” he replied, hugging her tightly.  “So, what about  _my_  jacket?”

“Oh, I’m keeping it.”

“Well, you look cuter in it anyway,” he agreed.

“Aww…, thank you.” She kissed him again, resting her forehead against his when she pulled away.  She took a deep breath.  “Stay with me tonight?”

* * *

 


	2. “It’s late.  Shouldn’t you be asleep?” John/Cara

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For @thatsweetbobbyfacetho
> 
> Pairing: John and Cara Kreese (A Careless Man’s Careful Daughter)

John slid his hand over the cold sheets on the empty side of the bed. He opened his eyes to see the bedside clock. It was a little after two in the morning.

_Where was Cara?_

She wasn’t usually, the one wandering around in the middle of the night. He hadn’t heard the phone ring, so he doubted that she had gone to the hospital, but maybe one of the girls was sick?

He got out of bed and made his way down the hall looking for her. He opened the door to the twins’ room. Amy had thrown all her blankets off like she always did. He went over and pulled them back over her and her doll, then picked Emily’s stuffed horse up off the floor and tucked it back in bed with her. Without waking she turned and wrapped her arm around it.

Becca was asleep on top of the blankets, at the foot of the bed.

“Come on, Princess.“ He woke her up enough to help her to bed correctly. He pulled the blankets up around her shoulders and brushed the hair out of her face. There were no more stuffed animals or baby dolls for her, and soon she’d be gone and out of the house.

 _Too soon, he thought sometimes_.

Going down the back stairs, he saw Cara, or rather the glowing red ember of her Virginia Slim, in the darkness of the Sunporch.

"It’s late. Shouldn’t you be asleep?” He asked, stepping onto the porch and turning on a lamp. He didn’t think she could even hear him, wherever she was right then.  It wasn’t safe in Reseda.  He could tell that much.

She was sitting in the outside doorway, staring out into the backyard. He could see the tremor in her hands from six steps away.

“Cara?” He gently put his hand on her shoulder as he sat down beside her, trying not to startle her.  "Come on, Baby. Give me this.“ He took the cigarette from her and stubbed it out.  He noticed the ashtray was half full.  She’d been up for a while. 

“I can’t…,” She put her head in her hands. “I can’t…” 

“I know,” he whispered. “I’m here. It’s okay. You’re safe.  Want to talk about it?“

She shook her head and leaned against his chest. "I just want it to stop. I just want to sleep.”

“Okay.“ He picked her up and carried her over to the sofa, wrapping the blanket around them both.

“We can’t sleep here, John,” Cara laughed, as they shifted around, trying to get comfortable on the small sofa.

“Sure, we can,” he replied with a smile, happy she was coming back around.  “We used to sleep on your cot together.  It was smaller than this.”

“True, but to be fair, we didn’t exactly do a lot of  _sleeping_  in that cot,” she shot back.

“Hey?” He shrugged and held his hands up.

“Don’t even think about it,” she laughed again.  “Remember Becca was conceived in that little cot and I have a tendency to make them in pairs.”

“Good point.”  He held her tighter.  “Get some sleep, Baby.”

They laid there in silence for a few minutes.

“Johnny Ray?”

“Hmm?”

“Thank you,” she said, hugging him.

“Any time.”

* * *

 

They were still asleep when Becca and the twins came downstairs the next morning.

“Are they okay?” Emily asked, staring at their parents.  Mommy and Daddy were always up when they woke up.

“Yeah, they’re fine,” Becca smiled, pulling them out of the room.  “Mom doesn’t have to work today.  Don’t wake them.  I’ll get you some breakfast.”

“Can you do that?” Amy asked, curiously.

“I’m fourteen.  I can make cereal,” She replied, rolling her eyes.  “And you two are six.  You can clean up after breakfast.”


	3. 82.  Just breathe, okay? Laura/Eli "Hawk"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For @gleegirl2011
> 
> Pairing: Eli/Laura But I’ll Never Stop Trying
> 
> Not Season 2 compliant. Maybe not original source compliant.

“We’ve got mail,” Laura declared, practically bouncing into Eli’s office in their new home. She loved being back in the Valley. Even if the Encino home had clearly been a bribe from Erica to move back and bring her grandchild with them.

She had to give her mother-in-law credit, though. It was perfect for them, looking like a garden cottage, with its wide wraparound porches and stone walkways.  Just, you know, on steroids. Everything was perfect. Especially the purple and gray nursery at the top of the stairs, all ready and just waiting for its future occupant whom Aisha had assured her would arrive sometime in the next two weeks. Everything had come together at just the right time she guessed.

 Hawk looked up as she came into his office and smiled. It didn’t matter how long they’d been together or how much he had changed since then, the sight of her always reduced some small part of him to that shy, awkward sixteen-year-old who had first offered her a pencil in Accounting. And a larger part that still couldn’t believe she’d actually married him.

“What did we get?“

“Here,” she handed him the envelopes, curling up in the chair by his desk.

The first part of the pregnancy had been hard on her, costing her 20 pounds and leaving her all sharp elbows and knobby knees, giving her the look of a large, blonde spider in her black tights and maternity dress.

He wisely kept that thought to himself.

“Occupant. Occupant. Occupant. Man, that dude’s popular,” he joked, flipping through the stack.

Laura rolled her eyes and pulled out her phone.

“This one is for you.” He stopped on a plain envelope.

“Huh? What?” she looked up from her phone.

“This,” He held out the envelope.

Her brow creased as she took it. It was addressed to Laura Lawrence, not Moskowitz, and it had her Dad and Ali’s address on it with a ‘please change your address’ sticker partially stuck to it.  She hadn’t lived with them since she’d gone to college.

She opened it and scanned over the words, the color draining from her cheeks, leaving her ghostly pale.

“Baby, what’s wrong?” Hawk asked, concerned.  He reached for her, but she dropped the letter and dashed out of the room.  She made it to the downstairs’ bathroom, dropping to her knees in front of the toilet, retching up what little she’d managed to eat that day before sitting back against the tub and wrapping her arms around her stomach and the precious little one she was carrying there.

Ten years.  It had been ten years.  She fingered the small silver scar on her wrist.  She also had one on her back and her left leg.  

This wasn’t supposed to happen now.  Not when everything was perfect.  

She felt dizzy and short of breath.  How could she protect her beautiful baby when she’d never been able to protect herself?

Hawk picked up the paper she’d dropped and quickly read it.

  _“Dear Miss Lawrence,_

_It is our duty to inform you that Gerald Martin Cooper has served his sentence in the California Corrections system and has been released…,”_

It went on to relay some details, like not being able to contact her or Robby, but the man that had torture Laura for months before finally putting her into a coma was now free.

“Shit,” Hawk muttered.  He put the letter on his desk and followed Laura, finding her curled on the bathroom floor, sobbing and hyperventilating in the middle of a full-blown panic attack. This was bad.  She still had nightmares about what had happened to her as a teen but hadn’t had a panic attack in years.

He sat down and pulled her into his lap.  “Just breathe, Baby.  It’s going to be okay.  He can’t hurt you again.  I won’t let him.”

“Can’t stop him.  No one can,” she whispered.  “I couldn’t…, We have to move.  We have to go.  I have to go. What if he finds me?  What if he finds our baby?”

“No.  No, Lou. That’s not going to happen. Look at me.” He lifted her chin until she was looking at him.  “That’s not going to happen.  No one is ever going to hurt you, or her, ever again.  I won’t let them.  _Sensei_  won’t let them.  Robby won’t let them. Sam and Mac and Aisha and Miguel won’t let them. Hell, even Demetri would try to fight them, or at least be quick on calling 911 for you.”  

She laughed slightly at his joke before sobbing again. “I’m so scared, Eli.”

“I know,” He said, kissing her head.  “I’ve got you.  Just breathe, Baby. Just breathe, okay?”

She nodded and clung to him while he rubbed her back and whispered to her.  When she got still and quiet, he thought she’d gone to sleep, but she suddenly looked up.

“Eli? I think I’m in labor,” she said, sounding uncertain and confused.

“What?  Oh, shit!” He stood up and helped her to her feet. “Oh, shit!  Oh, shit.  Um…, we need to…, we need…,”

“To relax,” she laughed in earnest, before holding her stomach and grimacing in pain.  “And call Aisha.”

“Right.  Right.” He searched his pockets for his phone before remembering he’d left it on his desk.  He ran out to get it and she followed at a slower pace shaking her head.

“Eli, Baby, just breathe, okay?”  She laughed, sitting back down in her chair.

“Right, breathe, right.”  He drummed his fingers against his desk as he waited for the call to connect. “AISHA?? PICK UP!”


	4. 11. ““How could you ask me that?” Robby/Miguel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For @theempressar
> 
> Pairing: Robby/Miguel
> 
> Post season 2

“How could you ask me that?”

Miguel stared at Robby’s shocked face for a moment, then shrugged. “I don’t know. I just don’t want to go alone, but I’m tired of home school! I want to go somewhere besides your apartment every day. And I want you with me.“

"Everyone at that school thinks I tried to kill you,” Robby replied.

“Well, I know you didn’t,” Miguel shot back. “And I’m the only one who counts, right?” 

"Yes, but you aren’t the one who is an attempted murderer,” he pointed out, clenching his fists in frustration.

Miguel sighed. He hated when Robby got down on himself. But it was true that the other students at West Valley weren’t exactly going to treat him fairly, if their past behaviors were any indicator. “That’s not true. You’re not an attempted murderer. Murder implies intent. You’re only an attempted accidental homicide-er, at most.”

Robby snorted a laugh, "Because that’s so much better?”

“Come on,” he wheedled. “Go to school with me.”

It was Robby’s turn to sigh and look away.

Miguel caught his chin and made him look back at him. He wasn’t sure  
when Robby had come to mean so much to him.

Maybe it was when Robby had shown up at the hospital, facing down Hawk, Tory, and hardest of all, Sam, to apologize to him.

Maybe it was when he found out that all the things Robby had been doing to help his Mom and Yaya wasn’t because Sensei was making him, including getting up at four a.m. to walk Yaya to her job at the bakery. Something Miguel had done, but never as cheerfully as Robby did. He was doing it because he wanted to.

Maybe it was when he’d seen Robby in court with handcuffs and shackles and realized that out of all the kids fighting that day, Robby was the only one getting any real punishment for it.  Something no one else, not even Sam thought was unfair and realized that he couldn’t let that happen. A move that had alienated himself as well, with the students in both dojos content to let Robby go down for the riot they had all been a part of. It had been a long three months with just each other before Sam and Aisha had shown up to apologize, followed shortly by Demetri, then finally and most surprisingly, Hawk.

In that time, they’d gone from enemies to friends, to something more they hadn’t quite defined yet.  And Miguel didn’t want to face an unfriendly world without Robby by his side.

He laced his fingers through the other boys and laid his head on his shoulder.

“Come on, Robby.  Go to school with me?”

“Fine,” he replied, rolling his eyes.  “But only because you’re cute.  Now, watch the damn movie.”

Miguel smiled and snuggled closer.  “You’re cute, too.  But I have better hair.”

Robby just rolled his eyes again.


	5. #38: “All I Wanted Was For You To Be Happy.” Johnny/Ali

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pairing: Johnny/Ali 
> 
> But I’ll Never Stop Trying Verse.
> 
> May or may not be fic compliant.

“You let Kreese back into your dojo?!” Ali demanded.

“He’s different, Ali. He’s changed,” Johnny insisted.

“People like that don’t change. He changes those around him,” Ali shot back. “Look at what he did to you in high school. What he did to Bobby. What he did to Peter!”

She hated the hold Kreese had always had on the boys he’d taught. She hadn’t known Johnny when he’d started taking lessons, but she’d seen the end results and she’d watched her own brother go from a sweet, if shy, boy to a bully with a criminal record.

This was not what she’d thought would happen when she’d agreed to come over and help Jimmy and Carmen with a very drunk Johnny.

She took a deep breath. She had to stay focused and find out why he’d gone so far off the rails since she’d seen him a few days before. Pressing him about Kreese wasn’t going to help.

“Okay, okay,” she said. “Your dojo is your business. Do what you want there, but what happened today?”

“That’s what I’m trying to tell you,” Johnny replied.

“I’m sorry. I’m listening,” she said, holding up her hands.

“Okay. So, I told my students that if they want something, they should go all in for it, Kreese said that I should follow my own advice when it comes to my kids and despite how you feel about him, he was right. So, I went to their apartment and they weren’t there. They’ve been evicted and their mom is God knows where,“ Johnny replied, burying his head in his hands.

“Wait, what?! Oh, no! Oh, God!” She covered her eyes and shook her head. With Mac in Colorado to visit her father for the summer, and trying to get her own clinic up and running, she hadn’t kept up with Lou and Robby as well as she should have. Not to mention her almost  _thing_  with Johnny made it awkward. She should have known those two weren’t going to ask if they needed help.  How could they have let them down again? 

"LaRusso has them,” he continued. “He stole my kids. That fucking little twerp. He takes every-fucking-thing. I should just go there and beat the shit out of him and take my kids back.” He punched the sofa. 

"No, Johnny, that won’t help anything,” she said. “That won’t do anything but drive Robby even further away from you.”

“It’s what LaRusso deserves. Where does he get off stealing other people’s kids?”

“Okay, you know what,” Ali said. “I’m not doing this. He didn’t steal your kids, Johnny. You should be happy someone you can trust has them. You may not like him, but you can trust him,” Ali sighed.  She’d thought when Daniel had stepped up to help with Robby while Laura was in the ICU, Johnny had started to let go of their past issues.  “Working with Kreese, fighting with Daniel, it’s like we’re back in the ’80s again.  This is so not what I wanted when I came back to the Valley.”

“What did you want?” Johnny asked, narrowing his eyes. “Not with moving back, but with getting involved in my family?”

“Mac is friends with Laura.”  She didn’t know how this had been turned back to her.

“So that’s it? Everything between us, it was just because our girls are friends?” He pressed.

She sighed and ran her hands through her hair.

“No,” she admitted.  “Some part of me wanted…, It doesn’t matter.  All I wanted was for you to be happy. What will make you happy?”

He was silent for a minute.  He supposed he should have tried to be suave and say her, but all he could think of was Robby, looking at him as he had at the hospital, without eyes full of hate and disappointment, and Laura, with her wide, loving smile.  “I want my children back.” 

“Okay,” she smiled, putting her arms around him and holding him close.  “Then we’ll get them back.  Together.”

“Together…,” he whispered, laying his head on her shoulder.

“Together,” she promised.


	6. 58: “I’ve waited for this moment for a long time.” Becca/Bobby

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pairing: Becca/Bobby
> 
> Karate Kid Becca Verse

“Lawrence advances to the finals!” The announcer called out.  “Next up, it’s Alex Stone from Topanga Karate versus Bobby Brown from the Cobra Kai dojo!”

“Hey, Becca,” Alex nodded and winked as he jogged past the Cobra Kai students to take his place on the mat.

Becca rolled her eyes so hard it hurt.  He thought he was such hot stuff.  Any of the Cobra Kai boys could have mopped up the floor with him, even the junior class. 

Bobby huffed and rolled his eyes at his opponent.  

“Don’t worry.  You got this idiot,” Johnny said, encouragingly.

“Yeah, he doesn’t stand a chance,” he agreed, taking his place.

Becca took her few pictures, then walked back to her seat, as only competitors and Senseis were allowed on the mats during matches.

“So, what’s with tall, dark, and handsome?” Susan asked, motioning to Alex.  “Why did he wink at you and why does Bobby look like he wants to murder him?”

“He and Bobby have always been rivals,” she answered, then shrugged, “And he’s my ex-boyfriend.”

“You dated him?” Barbara asked.

“Through the summer.” Becca nodded.

“What happened?“ Susan asked, leaning forward to better see the match.

"My father,” Becca sighed, motioning to John. “He’s terrified of my dad. Then my dad got Tom Bryant and Paulie Sims to follow us on our first two dates. They weren’t even discreet about it. They sat behind us at the movies, at the table next to us at the pizza parlor. It was ridiculous.”

“I’d be furious,” Ali spoke up.

“Yeah. I thought about it, but Alex can be a bit of a jerk,” she conceded. “He thinks he is God’s gift.”

Bobby hit Alex, knocking him off his feet.  “What’s the matter, Stone?“ he taunted. "Can’t cheat when your Dad isn’t one of the referees?”

“I never cheat, and I wouldn’t need to cheat to beat your ass,” Alex shot back, getting to his feet, attempting a hook kick, but not landing it.

Bobby advanced, landing a blow to Alex’s chest. “Because kicks to the back the head are legal, right?”

“Learn to duck.” Alex knocked Bobby back, getting a point.

“Oh. this is bullshit,” Bobby snapped. He swept Alex’s legs from under him, going to his knee to strike him for the final point. “I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time.” Ever since Stone had knocked him out of the finals with that illegal kick back in the summer. He punched Alex in the chest.

“Point Cobra Kai!  Match Cobra Kai!  Bobby Brown advances to the finals!”

Bobby smirked as the referee pulled him to his feet and held his arm in the air.  Once he’d been released to prepare for the final round, he walked over to Becca and grinned.

“Okay, Hot Shot,” she laughed.  “That was a good hit.”

“Yeah, he won’t cheat again,” he agreed, and he may or may not have made sure that Stone was watching as he leaned in to kiss Becca before heading to the locker room.


	7. 1: “I love you, please don’t go.” Johnny/Kayla

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pairing: Johnny/Kayla
> 
> Cobra Kai: The Long Road Back Verse

“Pregnant?“ Kayla couldn’t believe what Johnny was telling her.

He nodded miserably. "Kayla, Baby, I’m so sorry.” He took a step towards her, but she stepped back holding up her hands.

“Sorry about what, Johnny?! Sorry that you were screwing around? Sorry that you got her pregnant? Sorry that you were caught? What?!“

He just shook his head and looked at his feet. He’d just gotten Kayla back and now this? There was nothing he could say that was going to fix this.  
He didn’t even know why he’d been fooling around with Shannon Keene in the first place. He had wanted Kay, but she’d gotten tired of the drinking and other self-destructive behaviors and left him. He’d begged her for months for another chance. He’d slowed his drinking way down, he’d gotten a better job, he’d really cleaned his act up and now this.

"What do you want me to say?”

“I don’t want you to say anything. I don’t want you to do anything. I’m done, Johnny. I’m just done,” she sighed. She wasn’t even angry anymore. She was just tired. 

She went to their bedroom and started packing her things. Again. Maybe Susan would let her spend a few nights with her while she found her own place.  Her mom had made it clear that she couldn’t come back home when she’d decided to take Johnny back in the first place. She definitely didn’t want to have to tell her parents this.  Johnny was supposed to be getting his drinking under control. He was supposed to be getting his life back together.  He wasn’t supposed to be screwing a bartender half their age and twice her cup size. That he’d gotten her pregnant? Well that was just the icing on the cake, wasn’t it?’

Kayla couldn’t get pregnant. He should…, she shook her head, not even sure where she was going to with that thought. 

Johnny came into the room and sat on the bed, watching her silently. He looked so miserable, she found herself wanting to comfort him. She had to be strong and avoided looking at him.

“Kayla?”

“I have to go, Johnny. You’re having a baby, with her. You should be with her,” she said, quietly.

“But I love you, Baby,” he said. He got up and put his hands on her shoulders, looking at her in the mirror she was standing in front of

“I love you. Please don’t go.”

She met his eyes in the mirror and her resolve broke. She turned and put her arms around him, pulling him to her and burying her face in his chest. She wasn’t leaving now or probably ever.

“I love you, too.”


	8. 15: “Shouldn’t You Be With Him/Her?” Laura/ Eli "Hawk"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pairing: Hawk and Laura 
> 
> Cobra Kai: But I’ll Never Stop Trying verse
> 
> May or may not be part of But I’ll Never Stop Trying

Laura watched Hawk as he was leaning against the guardrail, watching the match taking place in the arena below them.

Taking a deep breath, she walked over to stand beside him. He looked over at her, then back at the match.

“How is he doing?“ she motioned to Bert below.

"He’s winning, of course,” he answered, without looking at her.  

She nodded and swayed back and forth on her heels. “You’re not going to make this easy for me, are you?”  
He looked at her again. “Have you made…,” he held his hands up. “Anything easy for me this year?”

“No,“ she admitted, shaking her head.

He sighed and looked back at the match. They stood in silence as the match finished and the next started, some young student she didn’t recognize.  
She didn’t spend much time at the dojo anymore since the injuries to her leg had permanently sidelined her in competition.

"I was hurt and angry.” she continued, “And I might have put more of that on you than you deserved.”

He shrugged, “I don’t know. I deserved a lot.”

She nodded in agreement then added, “But not all.”

“I’m sorry.”

She glanced at him again. "Me too.”

They stood in another awkward silence watching two more matches with kids they didn’t know, and neither could have said which dojo won.

Finally, Hawk worked up the nerve to ask the one thing that had been on his mind ever since she had approached him.  
“Shouldn’t you be with your boyfriend?”

“Don’t have one,”’ she answered, staring at the blue and white mats as though they held the secret of life.

That caught his attention as he looked at her then away quickly.  _Since when?_ “What about Stone?“

"We broke up,” she replied.

“When?” Last he’d heard they’d been going strong at the Halloween dance.

“A month or so ago. His family had to move to Napa for his dad’s job, and well, we both knew that it wasn’t the type of relationship that would last that kind of distance,” she explained.

“Oh. That stinks,” he said, sincerely.

“Yeah. Xander is really nice and funny and smart and kind to me…,” she paused.

Hawk rolled his eyes and looked down. He felt bad for Laura but at the same the time he didn’t want to hear all the ways Xander was a better boyfriend than he had been.

“But…, he's…, not you.“

Hawk’s breath caught in his throat. Did she really mean that? He turned to see her looking at him, nervously biting her lip.

He didn’t know what to say. Was this real? Having Laura back was all he had wanted for months. It had to be a joke, right? It couldn’t really be this easy, could it? After everything that had happened? He looked away and rubbed his lip nervously. A habit that he couldn’t seem to break.

"Okay,” Laura said, quietly. She felt the tears welling up in her eyes. She blinked hard, wondering just how long she had to stand there, pretending to watch the matches before she could escape without looking like some lovesick twerp.

She took a step back to leave when she felt his fingers trailing down her arm, then lacing through her own, pulling her back to his side. She looked down at their hands, then up at him.

“Eli?”

“Yeah?” he said softly, almost afraid that this  _was_  all a joke.

“The ‘Moon’ tattoo has to go.”  She grinned, looking at him the way she used to, the way he loved, the way didn’t make him feel like just a nerd with a scar on his lip.

“Consider it history.” He would do anything to keep her looking at him like that forever.


	9. 60: “You look like you could use a hug.” Becca/Susan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pairing: Becca/Susan (Platonic)
> 
> Karate Kid: Careless Man’s Careful Daughter Universe
> 
> Warning: Sexual Harassment of a young girl by an older man portrayed.
> 
> Also, the idea came from an episode of Family Ties, so credit where it’s due.

Becca heard the laughter coming from the backyard all the way in her bedroom. She smiled and rolled her eyes as she put the finishing touches on her make-up. Her dad and his Cobra Kai buddies could be worse than Bobby and the other guys any day of the week. Thank goodness she had a date tonight and could escape all the stories. **  
**

She looked at the clock. It was still ten minutes until Bobby was supposed to pick her up, so she walked down to the backyard to tell her parents that she was leaving.

“Hey, Princess!” Uncle Terry smiled and stood up to hug her. “You look nice. Where are you headed?”

“To a friend’s birthday party at the country club,” she replied.

“Ew.  I hate those parties,” he said.  “Of course, it may be more fun if you actually like the people.”

“I like her,” she laughed.

“Hey, quit hogging her,” Mikey Sullivan said, pushing Terry playfully.  “She’s my niece.”  He pulled her into a hug.

“Yeah?  Ask her who her favorite Uncle is,” he smirked.

“I don’t play that game anymore,” Becca laughed.

“She’s too grown up for you two,” Cara put in.

“Wait,” a tall man with light brown hair interrupted.  “No way this is little Becca?”

“Becca, you remember Mr. Steven, right?” John asked.  

She nodded.  She hadn’t seen him for a long time, but she did remember him.  “It’s nice to see you again,” she said, holding out her hand.

He shook her hand, then pulled her into a hug.

“Wow.  I feel old now,” he laughed as he stepped back.   

“I didn’t know you were going to be here, Uncle Mikey,” Becca said, hoping to take the attention off herself.  

“Well, I didn’t know if I was going to make it myself until earlier today,” he replied.  “I’ll be around a few days.  Go have fun.  I’ll take you and double trouble out for ice cream or something before I ship out again.  That reminds me,” he looked at Cara.  “Aren’t you missing some kids?”

“They’re at a Girl Scout campout,” she replied. 

“You didn’t go with them?”

“Cara doesn’t camp,” John laughed.

“Well, I do, its just call ‘deployment’,” she replied. “I don’t voluntarily live in a tent anymore if I can avoid it, though.”

“Bobby will be here soon,” Becca interrupted.  “May I go wait out front for him?”

“Yes, you may,” Cara answered.  

“Thanks,” she smiled.  

She hugged her mom and leaned over to hug her dad.

“Ten thirty, Rebecca Anne,” he reminded her.  

“I know, Daddy,” she replied, rolling her eyes.  “Ten thirty in the house.  Yes, sir.”

“Is there a problem?”

“No, sir,” she answered, quickly, taking her chance to leave.

“Hey, where’s your bathroom, Man?” Steve asked as Becca disappeared into the house. **  
**

“Under the stairs in the hallway,” Cara answered.

“Thanks.  I can’t drink as much as you Irishmen,” he joked.

Becca looked at her watch, then out the window.  It wasn’t like Bobby to be late.  

“Rebecca?”

She turned around to see Mr. Steven leaning against the doorframe.  

“Oh, Mr. Steven, can I help you?” 

“No, no.  I just wanted to say how good it was to see you,” he said, crossing the space between them and taking both her hands in his.  “You’ll probably be grown and out of the house by the next time I get down here to see your folks again.”

“Yes, sir,” she said, shyly, as he stared at her.

“You know, you are a really stunning girl,” he replied, looking her up and down.  “Your boyfriend is a lucky fellow.”

“Yes, sir,” she replied, again, feeling slightly uncomfortable.  “Um…, I should go out and wait.”

“Sure, sure,” he said, pulling her close, hugging her tightly.

She wasn’t sure, but when he did let her go, she thought he grabbed her behind.  She looked away and quickly grabbed her things. 

“It was great to see you, I hope you have a good night,” she said as she rushed out the door, grateful to see Bobby turn on to her street.  She met him at the end of the driveway.

“Sorry, I’m late, Babe,” he apologized as she got in the car.  “Just before I left, Jessie fell and scraped her knee and I had to help Mom calm her down.”

“It’s okay,” she said, trying to smile and shake off what just happened.  “Let’s just go.”

“Okay,” he smiled, leaning in to kiss her, but she looked back at the house.  “Is everything okay?  Are your parents fighting again?”

She shook her head.  “No, everything’s fine.”  She looked at him and smiled easier this time.  “Sorry.”  She kissed him.  

“Well, if you’re sure,” he said, uncertainly.  “You know you can talk to me if you’re not, right?”

“Yeah, I know.  Everything is fine.  Really.”

* * *

 

The night went well, Becca was a bit distracted but tried to hide it, not wanting to call any attention to herself at Barbara’s seventeenth birthday party.  She thought she was doing a fairly good job until the four girls went to the ladies’ room.  When they started out, Susan linked her arm through Becca’s and pulled her towards a small courtyard. 

“Where are we going?”

“Outside.  I want a smoke,” Susan said.  Seeing the stricken look on Becca’s face, she laughed lightly.  “Don’t worry.  A smoke of the normal tobacco kind.  My parents would have a cow if I came home smelling like pot.”

“Mine too,” Becca grinned as they took a seat on a nearby bench.  At least her parents weren’t the only strict ones about that.  Of all the girls that hung around the Cobras, she liked Susan the best, even if her mom hated her, saying she had a dirty mouth.  Cara might have had a small point about that but Susan was always the first one to speak up when she thought something wasn’t right.

“So,” she replied, pulling cigarettes out of her purse and lighting one, careful to keep as much of the smoke away from Becca as possible.  “What’s up with you tonight?”

“Oh, I’m fine,” she deflected.  “It’s just a bit overwhelming in there.”

“Yeah, well, everyone’s parents try to outdo each other, it gets kind of ridiculous.  I think for my birthday, I’m going to ask my parents if I can just have a slumber party with you and Ali and Barbara,” she admitted.

“Don’t we do that all the time?” 

“Yeah, but with presents,” Susan laughed again, then sobered.  “I’ll be straight with you.  I asked Bobby why you were being so quiet, because you’re being unusually quiet even for you, and he said you’ve been upset since he picked you up.  Do you need to talk about anything?”

Becca sighed, “No.  I mean, I don’t know.  It was probably nothing and I’m probably overreacting.”

“Seriously, Becca, I know we all love to gossip, but if you tell me something private, it’ll stay that way,“ Susan said, sincerely.

"Okay,” she sighed again. “So my Dad…, er, some of my Dad’s Army buddies are in town and they were over at our house and…, I don’t know I think one of them, maybe, made a pass at me.”

“What?! What do you mean?”

“I don’t know,” she stood up, throwing her hands up, “I don’t want…, what if I’m making too much of it?  What if it was an accident?  Or he was just trying to be friendly?”

“You have to tell me what he did before I can answer that,” Susan replied. She walked over and put her hands on Becca’s shoulders turning her to face her. “What did the creep do?”

"He’s not a creep, he’s one of my Dad’s best friends,” she squirmed.

“If he is Mr. Kreese’s friend, and he made a pass at you, then he’s a creep,“ she insisted.  “Non-creep guys don’t hit on their friends’ teenage daughters.  What did he do?”

"He, um, he held my hands and said I was a stunning girl and then he hugged me,” she paused and looked up. Susan was looking at her expectantly. "I mean, Uncle Terry hugged me and told me I looked nice, too. That’s a normal thing to do right?”

“Maybe. Or maybe it was a creepy thing to do.  Why do you think it wasn’t?  Did he cop a feel or something? Oh, my god! He did!” She exclaimed, seeing Becca’s face.

“No! I mean, what if it wasn’t that? What if…, I don’t know…, what if I just moved at the same time as he did and his hand just landed there.”

“That did not happen. Becca, you have to tell your mom,“ Susan insisted.

"I can’t do that. She’ll tell my dad and… You don’t know how these guys are. It’s more than just friendship. They’re like brothers. I even call most of them ‘Uncle’.  They’ve known me forever. That whole 'Princess’ thing? They started that! What if I’m wrong?  You don’t know my Dad and Uncles. They’re not big 'gray area’ guys. They won’t consider that it might have been an accident.  They’ll never speak to him again. And that’s if they don’t just beat the shit out of him first!” She was growing more panicked. “If I’m wrong, I’ll ruin their friendships for nothing!“

Susan pulled her into a hug. "Becca, honey, calm down. It’s okay. You look like you could use a hug. A real one.” She held her until Becca’s breathing slowed down. Then led her back to the bench. “Okay, so say this is all some big misunderstanding, you zigged when he zagged and your ass just happen to land in his hands, he was still making you uncomfortable or you wouldn’t even be questioning what happened. Will he be at your house when you get home?”

Becca thought about it. “I really don’t know. Probably not. He’s probably staying with Uncle Terry, not us if anyone.”

“How long will he be in town? Do you have to see him again?”

“I don’t know. Some more of their friends are coming over tomorrow, but maybe I can avoid him easier with the others around.”

“Well, personally, I think you should go straight and tell Mrs. Cara the minute you get home and let her annihilate him, but if you don’t want to do that, then just make sure you stay away from him. You can come to my house if you need to escape. Don’t even stop to call, just come, okay?“ Susan insisted.

“I will,” she promised, hugging her again. “Thank you.”

“Hey, no problem,” Susan replied. “And if he tries anything,  _anything_ , else, run tell Mrs. Cara as fast as you can. Don’t let him get away with it.”


	10. 49: “Why are you crying?” Becca/Cara

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part 2 to You could use a hug
> 
> https://curiousdamage.tumblr.com/post/185961348426/angstfluff-prompt-9
> 
> Pairing: Becca/Cara (Parental fic)
> 
> For me I guess (Sorry!)
> 
> Karate Kid: Careless Man’s Careful Daughter Universe
> 
> Warning: Sexual Harassment of a young girl by an older man portrayed.
> 
> Also, the idea came from an episode of Family Ties, so credit where it’s due.

“Hey, Uncle Terry. Do you know that you are my favorite Uncle?” Becca asked, leaning on the back of his chair and wrapping her arms around his neck.

“Becca!“ Mikey exclaimed with a laugh. "I’m right here. And out of all the other "Uncles” here, I’m the only one with a genetic link to you. I had to put up with your mom for seventeen years. Why does he get to be your favorite Uncle?”

“Aerosmith is playing at the Hollywood Bowl,” she grinned.  “Dynatox is a sponsor.“

"Carry on,” Mikey said with a flourish.

“Anyway, Uncle Terry, you’re so handsome and cool, and hip, and nice…,”

“Tell Mikey that I am your favorite Uncle again,” Terry smirked.

“For Aerosmith tickets, you can be my favorite Uncle, too,“ he shot back.

"No thanks,” Terry replied, then patted Becca’s arms. “I got your tickets last week.”

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!” she squealed.

“But you have to take Snake,” he muttered fast.

“No, not him,“ she whined. "I want to take Bobby.”

“You’ll just end up kissing Bobby,” he teased

“I’ll just end up killing Kelvin,” she replied.

“Take Bobby too. Just keep an eye on Kel and make sure he doesn’t do anything stupid,” Terry said.

“Doesn’t he have a girlfriend who can do that?”

He shot her a look.

“Right. Dumb question. I’ll take care of him, Uncle Terry. Don’t worry,” she smiled, hugging him again. “Thank you!”

“I know, Honey,” he laughed. “Will you get me another beer?”

“Sure. Uncle Mikey?”

"Oh, am I your Uncle again?” he teased.

“Until KISS comes to town,” she smirked.

“If he gets you KISS tickets, you’re taking me,” he laughed. “A beer would be great.”

“Cool. I’ll be right back.” She went into the kitchen, got the beers, and was rummaging through the drawers for an opener.

“Rebecca?”

She spun around. “Mr. Steven! Do you need anything?”

“Um…, I was hoping we could talk,” he said, rubbing his neck nervously.

“I guess,” she shrugged, looking out the window to see most everyone outside.

"Look, I…, I think you might have gotten the wrong idea yesterday when we were talking in the front room,” he said.  “I think you might have thought I was um, you know coming on to you with that hug.“

"Um…, a little,” she admitted.

“Well, I want to assure you that that was absolutely not my intentions. I mean, you were such a part of our lives back then, what was keeping us motivated, to keep going, and all that, I feel like I know you like Terry, or Mikey, or some of the others who have been around a little more do. I just forgot that I haven’t been around, so you don’t know me as you know them, and I could see how you might have gotten confused about that hug.”

"Yeah,” she breathed a sigh of relief. “That makes sense. I’ve never been so glad to be wrong about something.”

Steve laughed. “I’m sorry I made you uncomfortable.”

“I’m sorry I thought the worse,” she confessed.

“No, Honey, don’t even think about it,” he said, waving his hand as if dismissing it. “Totally my fault I’m the adult and you’re the little Princess.”  He stopped and smiled warmly, “And I promise that is all I see you as, okay?”

“Yes, sir,” she returned his smile. “I need to take this outside.”  She held up the beers. She breathed another sigh of relief that she had been wrong about him. He just saw her the same as Uncle Terry and the other guys did. She even managed to quiet that nagging thought that reminded her that Uncle Terry had never looked her up and down like that and that in all the hugs they’d shared, his hands had never landed on her behind. Well, she mostly silenced it.

She kissed each Uncle on the cheek. "I couldn’t find the opener, so you’ll have to be manly men and figure out how to open them without one. I’m going upstairs to call my best friend and tell her that I’m going to see Aerosmith!”

She practically danced into the house. She didn’t expect Mr. Steven to still be in the kitchen.

She jumped, startled again when he cleared his throat.

“Sorry,” he said, again, running his fingers around the rim of his tumbler.

“It’s okay. Did you need something?” she asked, confused.

“Yeah,” he said, drawing out the word. He set his cup down and took a step towards her.  “I just wanted to be sure that we are okay?”

“We’re cool,“ she replied, instinctively taking a step back. The counter stopping her further retreat. "Well, it was nice to see you, M…,”

Her words were cut off as he pressed her against the counter, running his fingers in her hair, and kissing her hard.

She struggled to get away. Her Dad had always told her to knee a guy in the groin to get away, but she couldn’t move her legs that much, choosing to stomp his insole instead.

He jerked away as though he’d been shot.  "Becca! Oh, God! I’m so sorry!“ He exclaimed as though he hadn’t known what he was doing.

She had her hand over her mouth, staring at him in disbelief and shock, before running up the backstairs to her bedroom.

Steve watched as Becca ran up the stairs. He didn’t know what had come over him. She was his friends’ daughter. Their very young daughter. And everyone here thought of her as their own, everyone felt like a Daddy to her. And he’d always thought he did too. But then last night, and now this?

He had to get out of here. John was going to kill him. With Terry and Mike helping and the others willing to hide the body. They could all joke and talk shit but there was a line you didn’t cross, and the Princess was squarely on the other side of it. Hell, John once broke a guy’s nose for just teasing that the Princess might not be his kid, though that one might have been more about Cara than the kid.

He had to go. He slipped out intending to slide out the side gate when no one was paying attention.

That was his plan, but as soon as he stepped out, Robert Racine grabbed him around the shoulder.

"Stevie! Stevie,” he laughed, clapping him on the shoulder. “Back me up. You were there when we had that piece of shit radio. It’s a wonder we ever heard anything.”

“Yeah,” Steve said, looking around, “Listen…,”

“Anyway,” Racine blew pasted Steve’s protest to tell his story. “Terry was jacking with the damn thing…, again…,”

* * *

 

Becca slammed her bedroom door. She couldn’t believe that just happened. She turned her radio on full blast grabbed a pillow, pressed it to her face, and screamed. She knew she’d promised Susan that she’d go to her house if anything happened, but she didn’t know how she’d manage to get out of the house without having to tell her parents anything and if she told them anything right now, she’d tell everything.

“Rebecca!” She heard Cara bang on the door before opening it. “Turn down…,” Her mother’s face went from stern to concern, seeing Becca curled up on her bed, tears streaking her cheeks. She flipped off the stereo as Becca sat up, wiping her face.

“Mama,” she sobbed, letting Cara hug her.

“What’s the matter, Honey?  Why are you crying?” She brushed Becca’s hair from her face and kissed her forehead. “Did something happen?”

It took Becca a few tries but she eventually spoke up. “Mr. Steven…, he um…, he…, made a pass at me.”

“A pass? What do you mean he made a pass at you?”

“You know, with his hands and his lips and…, oh god!”

“What did he do?!”

“He…, he…, yesterday when I was waiting for Bobby, he was talking to me, and then he hugged me and he…, he grabbed my behind. And then, today…, he said I had the wrong idea and that he didn’t mean it like that and then he…, he pushed me up against the counter in the kitchen and he…, he kissed me. Hard.”  She covered her face and sobbed again.

Cara pulled her hands away from her face and made her look up at her.

“Did he hurt you, Rebecca?”

“No.  He just…, he really scared me, Mom,” she cried.

“Oh, Honey, I know,” Cara held her close and rubbed her back. “It’s okay.  You’re okay. Daddy and I will take care of him.”

“No, Mom.  You can’t tell Daddy. What if everyone thinks it’s my fault?  Maybe I was being too friendly or something?”

“No.  No,” she shook her head.  “You didn’t cause this, Rebecca.  No one is going to think that.  Get that thought out of your head, okay?”

Becca wiped her nose and nodded.

“Steve has to go.  He has to leave.  Daddy and I won’t let anyone make you feel scared in your own home, you know that.”

“I just don’t want anyone to know, Mom.  It’s embarrassing.  And you know Daddy’s going to blow up and it’ll just be a big thing and I just want it to be over and forget that it happened.  I’ll just stay up here in my room until he leaves.  Or I could go over to Susan’s for a little while? I just want it to be done, Mama,” Becca pleaded.

“Becca, Honey, someone needs to talk to him so that he knows he can’t do that to another girl, okay?” Cara kissed her head again.  “You didn’t do anything wrong.  You have nothing to be embarrassed about.  No one is going to think this is your fault. He’s a grown man.  You’re a child. It’s not your fault.” Seeing that Becca still looked unconvinced, she hugged her again.  “Okay, Honey.  I know that feeling.  How about if I just go down and tell Steve that he needs to leave?”

Becca nodded, wiping her eyes again.  

“Okay, Sweetheart.  You can stay here, and I’ll go tell him to leave,” she said.  

“Mom?”

“Yes, Sweetheart?”

“You know this feeling? Did anything like this ever happen to you?”

Cara nodded, “Yeah.  When I was about your age.  A very good friend of our family was over for dinner and when Mimi and Grandpa were out of the room, he grabbed me and groped me.”

“What did you do?”

“Well, I did almost the same thing you did.  I asked to be excused as soon as your grandpa came back in the room, then I ran upstairs and called my best friend, Helen, and asked her if she thought Ryan McHenry liked me.  Like you, I just wanted to forget that it had happened.”

“I told Susan what happened last night.  She said I should have told you,” Becca admitted.

“She’s a smart girl. A bit more…, crass than I’d like you to be, but hey, we all need a friend that our mom doesn’t like.” Cara smiled, kindly.  “I’ll be back soon.”

Becca nodded again.

* * *

 

Well, that was the plan anyway.  If for some reason that the jerk was stupid enough to hang around, she was just going to pull him to the side, tell him that she knew what he’d done and that if he didn’t make his excuses and leave immediately, John would know what he’d done, too.

However, when she saw him, she couldn’t stop herself.  She made a beeline for him, by the look on his face, he knew that she knew.  

“Cara, be rea…,”

Her right fist caught him square between the eyes.

“Cara! What the hell?” John exclaimed, not sure what exactly was going on. He grabbed her around the waist and pulled her back.

“Let me go, John.  This…, this asshole tried to seduce your sixteen-year-old daughter,” she said.

“Tell me why I shouldn’t kill you,” John snapped, releasing Cara and hauling Steven up from the ground, holding him up by his shirt.

“That’s not…, she’s just…, confused…, I told her…, You know I would never hurt your kid,” Steve sputtered out.

“Shut up,” he snarled. He looked at Cara.  “What did Becca say?”

“That he felt her up when he hugged her, then he pinned her against the counter and kissed her.”

“What?!” He flung Steve away from him, knocking him down.  

“It wasn’t like that,” Steve declared as two of the other men pulled him back to his feet.

“My daughter doesn’t lie, and she’d  _damn sure_  never lie about something like that!”  He hit the other man, steadily advancing with kicks and punches.  

“Get him up,” he said when Steven fell again.  “He’s not through.”

“No!” Cara stepped between them.  She put her hands on his face and made him look at her.  “I know.  I get it.  But our girls and I need you here.

Calm down.”

She turned to Steven.  “Get out. Never come back to our home or speak to our children again.”

“Go check on the Princess,” Terry said, putting a hand on John’s shoulder and turning him towards the house.  “I’ll take care of things out here.”

“Come on, Johnny Ray,” Cara coaxed, taking his hand and pulling him inside.

Steven slung off those reaching to pull him up and stood, swaying, on his own.

Terry and Mikey grabbed him by the collar, marching him towards the gate.  

“If you even think about calling the cops, or in any way escalating this further against Johnny, there won’t be a place in this world you can hide that we won’t find you,” Terry said, menacingly.  “And Cara won’t be there to save your sorry ass.”

Steven nodded just before Mikey slammed the gate.

* * *

 

A little while later, Mikey was sitting at the dining room table, watching Becca and Terry play some convoluted card game that involved slapping, then grabbing the cards as ‘theirs’ and seemed geared towards Becca always winning.

“I win,” she grinned, slapping down her last card, feeling better about the whole day.

“Alright, Card Shark,” Terry laughed, ruffling her hair. “How much do I owe you now?”

“Ten dollars.” She started shuffling the cards again.  

“Put it on my tab.”

“Want to play again?”

“Later, Princess,” he said as John came into the room.

“Come on, Silver,” Mikey said, getting up.  “You can take me out and show me where you meet models desperate enough to date you.  I’ll definitely make out there.”

“Yeah, sure.  Better go grab your flight jacket so you look interesting enough to talk to.  Better wear the hood up to cover your face while you’re at it,” Terry smirked.

Both men kissed her head as they left the room.  

“Hey, Daddy,” she said, somewhat shyly.  

He nodded, getting a drink from the refrigerator.

“Listen, Daddy, I’m sorry…,”

“No, Becca.  You don’t have anything to be sorry for,” John said, taking a seat beside her.  “I’m just sorry that you had to deal with that. Some guys just never grow up and realize their assholes.”  He sighed.  “You know, you used to talk to me about everything.”

She nodded, “I know, it’s just…, easier to talk to mom about some things.”

“Yeah,” he agreed.  “And I’m sure that’s going to be more and more things the older you get, but I just want you to know that you can still always talk to me, if you’re scared or upset or just because. I may not always understand, but I’ll always try to help, even if all I can do is run get Mom myself.”

“I know, Daddy.” She smiled, laughing slightly, imagining telling him something about her period or sex.  He’d wait for approximately .2 second before yelling, ‘Cara Marie!’

“Come here, Princess.”  He hugged her tightly.  “Now, about this Aerosmith concert…,”


	11. #53:  “Who cares about what they think?” Terry Silver/Mikey Sullivan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For @thatsweetbobbyfacetho 
> 
> Fandom: Karate Kid - Before- Becca Universe
> 
> Pairing: Terry Silver/Mikey Sullivan

Terry watched the dark-haired man standing in the back of the room. He seemed out of place, fidgety and jumpy. He had taken a cigarette out of a pack but was just twirling it in his hands, passing it from hand to hand.

Terry knew that feeling. The one that the world around you is going to explode any minute and you almost hoped that it would because you don’t know what to do with yourself in all this ‘peace’.

The feeling was just starting to recede from his own life, and he’d been home for over a year now.

Mikey had just gotten “home” a few weeks before. The Army brat had never really had a home, following his parents from base to base, then joining up himself on his seventeenth birthday. Fort Benning to flight school to Vietnam before he was 19. He lived in a war zone longer than he’d lived anywhere in his life.

Of course, the Army had given him a few months off to ‘recuperate’ before going to his next duty station.  Fat lot of good it had done. Since all of his family were career military, he’d just been couch surfing from Army base to Army base, landing at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri with Cara and John for the little Princess’s birthday and Christmas.

All the family and friends gathered around, being loud and wanting to hug him, pat him on the back, and otherwise wish him well had the older man looking like he wanted to crawl out of his own skin.

Terry grabbed two glasses of wine off the sideboard and walked over to Mikey.  
“How are you doing?“ He asked, holding out a glass. He knew Mikey fairly well. Mikey hadn’t been a Cobra Kai, but he was the chopper pilot who was most often assigned to take them in and out of their missions. "It’s weird being back in the world, isn’t it?”

“Yeah,“ Mikey agreed with a laugh. That didn’t even begin to cover it. He took the glass, sloshing it over his hand when a slamming door caused him  
to flinch.

Terry put a hand over Mikey’s wrist to steady it. He could feel Mikey’s pulse bounding out of his skin.

"Come on. Let’s go get a smoke,” Terry offered, nodding towards the back door. When Mikey hesitated, he leaned in close and whispered, “You’re about to lose it and you don’t need to break in front of all these kids, especially not the princess.” He motioned to where John and Cara’s daughter, their goddaughter, was bouncing from person to person with that kind of energy only an overly tired preschooler could conjure up.

“Okay,“ Mikey said, letting out a shaky breath. He let Terry lead him out to the backyard, where they took seats on Becca’s swing set.

Two of his cigarettes and half of Terry’s cigar later, he spoke again.

"Thanks for that. I guess I was getting too close to the edge.”

"No problem. We all get there sometimes. How are you?”

He shrugged, “Oh, I don’t know. Fine, I guess. It just gets to be a little too much sometimes, you know? It’s too loud but the quiet is too quiet, too. Sometimes I think I’m going crazy. I’m constantly waiting for the shit to hit the fan again. It’s hard to just relax and breathe, you know?”  He took another long drag from his cigarette.  “Does that feeling ever stop?”

“No,” Terry answered, honestly.  “Or when it does, I’ll let you know.  It does get easier though.  The noise gets quieter, the quiet gets louder. You stop listening for things that aren’t there.”  He drained the last of the wine from his glass.

“Yeah, well, I’m not sure that’s possible,” Mikey replied, taking a drink, then grimacing.  Wine had never been his style.  Jack Daniels, Jim Beam, and Budweiser were his preferred drinks.  “I took Princess to the park yesterday and some dumb kid was throwing cherry bombs at a tree in his yard. I nearly…, well, it’s hard to explain to a four-year-old why Uncle Mikey is scared of the park.”

Terry stared at him for a minute, before turning away to take a drag from his cigar.  “Well, of course, you can’t relax.  You’re bouncing from Army base to Army base.  People are training to go over there everywhere.  You need to get away.”

“Yeah, well…,” Being alone would be almost as bad as the sights and sounds on base, but he wasn’t about to admit that after admitting cherry bombs scared him.

“Look, my parents left me this place in Hawaii.  I’m headed down there day after tomorrow to see how it’s doing.  I haven’t been since I was ten, but my parents used to go several times a year before they died.  Why don’t you go down there with me?  Get some real peace and quiet?”

“No, I couldn’t do that.  What would everyone think?”  Mikey questioned.

“That you’re getting a free trip to Hawaii and would be crazy to refuse?” Terry shot back with a shrug.  “Who cares about what they think?  We’ll go down there.  Check out the property. Get some good food, and spend a few days laying on the beach watching bikini babes.”  He stood up and stretched.  He stubbed out his cigar, then patted Mikey on the back.  “Think about it, okay?”

“Yeah, okay,” he heard himself agreeing as he watched the younger man walk back in the house.

_“Who cares about what they think?”_

Terry hadn’t meant anything by it.  If the ‘bikini babes’ line was any indicator, he didn’t know. He didn’t know that what everyone thought was the only thing Mikey could care about some days, because if anyone ever thought the wrong thing, well, Mikey didn’t want to think about what could happen if anyone ever found out his secret.

He lit another cigarette.  One more smoke should be enough time.

 

 


	12. #71: “You’ve been drinking tonight, haven’t you?” Terry Silver/Mikey Sullivan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For @izzymcfeegles
> 
> Fandom: Karate Kid - Before- Becca Universe
> 
> Pairing: Terry Silver/Mikey Sullivan

“Hello?” Mikey squinted at his bedside clock.

2:20 in the morning?! Who the hell would call him at 2:20 in the morning? Someone better be dying. True it was only six to eight p. m. for all his family back home, but they were pretty good at remembering the time zones. 

“Mickey…,” came the whispered reply.

His breath caught in his throat. Terry. He hadn’t spoken to him in the last six months at his wedding.

Terry had some damn nerve to call him now. It was on his tongue to tell him so when Terry spoke again.

“Mikey, please, I’m sorry. Just…, just don’t hang up,” he mumbled

“How did you get this number?” he asked.

“Cara.”

Mikey’s heart began to race as he sat upright in his bed. “Cara gave you my number?”

“Well, she didn’t give it to me,“ he admitted. "She…, she has it written down by her phone. Don't…, don’t worry. I resisted the urge to put little hearts around it.” 

"That shit ain’t funny,” he growled.

“Do you…, do you hear me laughing?”

Mikey forced himself to relax, laying back in his bed. “What do you want?”

"D'you know where I am?”

“Do I care?”

“Brissago.”

“You’re in Brissago?” His mind flitted back to the last trip they had taken together. To Brissago. They’d gotten shitfaced drunk in some little pub stole a chocolate bar from the hotel lobby, and kissed in the elevator, before sobering up enough to realize what they were doing.

“I am. D'you know what I’m doing?”

"Terry,” he sighed. He didn’t have time for this.

“D'you know what I’m doing?” he insisted.

“No, I don’t know what you’re doing, I don’t care what you’re doing. Do you know it’s 2:30 in the  _fucking_  morning? I have to be in the air five minutes after reveille. Why don’t you call  _your wife_ and ask her?“ he snapped.

"Because I want to talk to you.  Don’t you want to talk to me?  _Please_?” he said.

“You’ve been drinking tonight, haven’t you?”

Terry was never this drunk or out of control. He never pleaded with anyone for anything. It was one of the last bits of class snobbery that still clung to him from his prep school days.

“Yes. You gonna tell me I drink too much, too?”

“Now, that would be something, wouldn’t it? A Sullivan telling someone else they drink too much?“ He chuckled. "What’re you doing?”

“I’m eating chocolate caramels,“ he giggled, sounding very much like a petulant child who had been given their way. "D’you know that’s what you taste like?” He paused. “Of course, you know that. That’s why you gave me that basket. You’re a real dick sometimes, you know that?”

“You’re calling someone else a dick? That’s rich,” he scoffed.

“Yeah,“ he laughed again. "But I admit, hell, I embrace being a dick. You still like people to believe you’re a good guy.”

“Whatever.” He listened to the silence for a long minute, wondering if they had been disconnected when he heard an unmistakable sound. “Terry, you’ve had enough. Put the drink down.”

“What do you know about it?”

“I can hear the ice rattling in the glass, Asshole,” he snapped. “Put it down or I will hang up.”

There was a longer silence this time, a standoff of sorts. God, he was such a child sometimes.

“Put it down,” he demanded again.

“Fine.” He heard a huff, the sound of the glass being slammed down, then, “It’s down…, just please don’t hang, hang up.”

“I won’t,“ he promised, hating himself for giving in.

"I miss you, Mickey,” he breathed. Mikey hated that name, but somehow it was okay from Terry. “Why are you still mad at me? I told you that I was sorry about the tabloid thing.“

"I’m not mad but you’re still married. Terry, it’s not right.”

“It’s not right to be my friend?”

“We both know that’s not all we are.”

It was quiet again.

“Do you still taste like chocolate caramels?”

“This isn’t a conversation we can have,” he warned.

“Why not, Mickey?”

“Because friends don’t have these kinds of conversations.”

“I don’t want to be your friend,” he admitted. “I want to touch you.  Why won’t you let me touch you? Why won’t you let me in?” He was quiet again. “Come see me.”

“Terry,” he sighed, torn. Brissago was only 3 hours away so it was doable but was it smart?

“ _Please, Mickey_? Come on. It’ll be fun. No chocolate caramels. No bourbon. Just good food, booze, just us, hanging out, maybe buying Princess some gifts. Fun, like it used to be, like  _we_  used to be.”

Something in his voice, the tone, the hopelessness, and the way he kept whispering, ‘Mickey’ was Mikey’s undoing.

“Okay,” he agreed, knowing it was a mistake.  “I’ll come up tomorrow when I get off duty. Where are you staying?”

“I have a suite at the Hotel Ascona,” Terry answered the happy kid tone back in his voice.

Well, at least it wasn’t the same damn hotel.  “I’ll see you at about seven.  But no more drinking tonight, okay?”

“Yeah, okay. It’s going to be great. I’ll see you then. Goodnight, Mickey.”

“Goodnight.”

_Damn, he was stupid._


	13. 49: “Who Hurt You?” Terry/Mikey

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For @thatsweetbobbyfacetho
> 
> Fandom: Karate Kid Becca Verse
> 
> Pairing: Terry Silver/ Mikey Sullivan  
> Warnings: Use of period relevant homophobic slurs and attitude. These do not reflect my personal feelings. ****Violence to a person for being homosexual depicted*****

It was pouring down buckets of ice-cold rain. Suitable for a funeral, especially this one. He was still in a bit of shock. He still couldn’t believe she was gone. **  
**

For such a tiny woman, his mother had always seemed so strong and indestructible. He looked down the line of his siblings. Nick was there in his uniform, as was Luke. They looked so closed off and cold. Did he use to look like that in his uniform?

Cara was next to their Dad in a plain black dress. She’d been so strong through all of this, taking care of the arrangements, tending to their Dad, keeping things running while waiting for her siblings to fly in from all over the country. She was so much like their mom.

Addy always thought she was, but she wasn’t nearly as strong as Cara or their mom. She was strong, sure, but she was too loud about it. Too look at me, while Cara never called attention to it. She just did what needed to be done, like Mom always had.

Addy and her husband Jack were next to him, both in their uniforms. And there he stood, in a rumpled suit and muddy shoes. He had left in such a hurry; he hadn’t really packed well. DD was pressed against his side, looking fabulous as always. She squeezed his hand.

He lifted his head and looked at the gathered crowd. Aunts and Uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews, service members. John was standing nearby with both twins wrapped around his waist, hiding their faces in his coat as he held an umbrella over them and one arm around them.  Good on him for showing up. Cara needed some help, even if it was just with their girls.

Next to them was the face he was looking for. Terry was standing with Becca, holding a dark umbrella over them. At some point, he’d wrapped his overcoat around her thin shoulders. It was dragging in the mud, but he knew Terry didn’t care. If Princess was happy, he was happy.

He caught his eye and Terry nodded ever so slightly, so slight that no one else would even notice. It was then that the ridiculousness of the situation struck him.  There he was, wrapped in the arms of a very married woman and his family could accept, even encourage that, but he couldn’t even acknowledge the man in front of him.

 _Don’t look too long. Shake hands but don’t linger. Laugh but don’t smile. Never let anyone know._ His last conversation with his mother had been her lamenting that it was time for him to settle down and find someone to grow old with. Stop running around chasing models with that silly friend of his.

Terry.

He couldn’t tell her that he and Terry had never really been chasing models, they’d just been too stupid to admit they were chasing each other. She would have never understood. He didn’t want to think about what the rest of his family would think. They were strictly, traditionally Catholic, sometimes he was pretty sure they would see his very existence a sin.

He knew his brothers. If they knew he was, well, what he was, they’d kill him. It was bad enough to them that Cara had been an unwed mother and was now divorced. Nothing like having a queer for a little brother to complete the set.

Nick was sleeping with his unit’s secretary. They had been cuddling in a back room at the wake for God and all to see, especially Nick’s wife. Luke was an alcoholic that put the rest of them to shame. Addy and Jack’s oldest was one of those nine-pound preemies, but he and Cara were the bad kids. This was so ridiculous.

He flinched at the sound of Taps. Thank goodness this debacle was almost over. 

Deidre snaked her arm around his shoulders. “I’ve got you,” she whispered. He squeezed her hand. He hated this song. He hated it so much. It was so finalizing.  And he couldn’t cry because the Sullivans are good little soldiers and good little soldiers don’t cry.

“Come with Terry and me when we leave. It’ll give you a few minutes to relax,” she whispered, again. He leaned in and kissed her cheek. Chuckling to himself at the sheer hypocrisy that his brothers and Dad would rather see him kiss a married woman than the man who loved him.

“Thanks, DD. You’re an angel, like always,” he whispered. And she had been. It had been her idea to have Terry fly up to Stanford to get Becca and fly her out to Virginia. He couldn’t be there for Mikey, but no one batted an eye that Becca’s godfather had flown her out and back. It was stupid, really. And he was the worst because he was letting them ­get away with it.

* * *

 

Deidre was a genius. It was just thirty minutes from Arlington cemetery to his parent’s home, but it was enough. Sitting between the two people he loved most had recharged him. A cup of coffee and a few cigarettes later, and he could deal with his family for the rest of the evening. 

Shake hands. Smile kindly at the words of sympathy. Listen to another old story.  Rinse.  Repeat. If one more person asked him what he’s been doing since he’d left the Army he’d scream. It had been four years.

All too soon, he saw Terry tap Becca on the shoulder and whisper something in her ear.  He guessed it was time for them to go. Becca was in the middle of finals and had to be back the next morning to finish them.  If it hadn’t been for Terry flying her down in his plane, she wouldn’t have gotten to come.  Commercial flights put her either missing the funeral or her last two finals.

“Want to grab a smoke before you go?” he asked, walking over to him.  

“Sure thing,” he said, flashing that smile that still had the power to make Mikey senseless.

“Come on.”  He led him outside to a small garden.  Once they were far enough from the house, both to smoke and to not be overheard, he stopped.

“Thank you for coming,” he said, taking out a cigarette, just to have something to do with hands that wanted to reach out for the other man.

“What else was I going to do?”  

Mikey shrugged, letting his head fall back against the garden fence.  

“You look tired.  Why don’t you come home with DD and I now?” he asked.

“I’m okay. I got a flight out tomorrow.  I figure I’ll stay tonight.  Help Cara clean up after everyone leaves.  John’s taking the twins with him, so I don’t want her to be alone,” he said.  “She might need some help with Dad. It’s been stressful on him.”

“How’s he doing?”  

The General had a heart attack a few years before that had left him with declining health.  He still got around on his own, but Cara came over at least once a week to make sure he was taking his medications and everything was well.

“He’s just tired.  He never expected to outlive Mom.  I don’t think he’d even considered the possibility.  Hell, knowing him, he’d ordered her to outlive him,” he laughed, lightly.

“Let me pick you up tomorrow.”

“Nah,” he shook his head.  “It’ll be late. I’ll probably just go home and crash.”

“Well, if you’re sure?”

The two men turned to face each other.

“Yeah, it’s just a few more hours of family togetherness, then we can go back to ignoring each other,” he smiled.

“Power through,” Terry laughed.

“Yeah.”  With his cigarette gone, he reached out to touch Terry, straightening his tie, his hands lingering as they slid down his chest.  “There.  Now Margaret won’t harass you about looking disheveled.”

“Me? You look like you slept in that suit.”

“You’re not supposed to do that?” he teased.  

“There are better ways to sleep,” Terry shot back, smiling that smile again.

He laughed, his eyes sweeping over his boyfriend’s frame. “You’d know all about that.  I’ll see you on Wednesday?”

“For sure.”  With one last look at Mikey, Terry walked back towards the house. Mikey waited a moment or two before following him.

A figure stepped out of the shadows, having gone out to smoke a few minutes before Terry and Mikey.

“Fucking disgusting,” Jack muttered to himself, shaking his head.  “I always knew Mikey was a fucking fag.”               

* * *

 

Nick was in the front yard, speaking to everyone as they left.  He was the oldest.  It made sense for him to speak for the family.  

He saw Becca and her godfather, Terry, he thought his name was.  He’d seen him a few times through the years at Becca’s events, and Mikey’s girlfriend leaving. He didn’t care what those two said, they were definitely a couple. 

He walked over to greet them.

“Are you sure you can’t stay and visit with Grandpa longer?” he asked her. “I know he’d love to spend some more time with you. He tells everyone about his granddaughter at Stanford. I don’t think he’d be prouder if you had gotten into West Point.”

“Well, I don’t know about that,” she smiled. “He’s still pulling for one of us to play in the Army-Navy game.”

Nick laughed at that. “Honey, those Navy boys wouldn’t stand a chance against you.” He hugged her before turning to Terry, “Thank you for getting her out here. It was bothering the old man that she wasn’t going to be here.”

“No problem. I’m happy I could help her,” he replied, shaking Nick’s outstretched hand before leading Becca to a waiting car.

“Why are you thanking that queer for shit?“ Jack asked as he and Luke joined Nick.

"What are you talking about?” Nick asked. “Silver ain’t a queer. He was a Cobra Kai Green Beret.”

“I don’t give a rat’s ass what he was. I’m telling you what he is. He’s a fucking homo and he’s fucking your brother,“ Jack snapped.

"You better watch your filthy mouth,” Nick warned. “This is my mother’s funeral. I don’t want to have to kick your ass now.”

“I saw them together,” he insisted, “They were out back, and they weren’t acting like no Army buddies I have.”

Nick looked around and grabbed both men by the upper arms and dragged them into the garage. Making sure all the doors were shut, he turned back to his brother-in-law.

“Now, you want to make this claim, you’d better tell us exactly what you saw.”

“They were in the backyard, smoking and talking about seeing each other later,” he said. “Then Mikey fixed Silver’s tie and was running his hands all over him.” Seeing his brothers-in-law weren’t convinced he continued, “Look it’s not just what they were doing, it was how they were doing it, how they were looking at each other. I mean, trust me. Something’s going on with them." 

They were quiet for a while before Luke spoke.

"Nick, you know we’ve always kind of known he was a little light in the loafers with girls. I mean look how long he’s known Deidre and they’ve never…,” he shrugged helplessly.

“Yeah. I guess you’re right,” he conceded. “But not being serious with girls doesn’t mean he’s screwing some guy. You’re going to have to show me more proof before we do anything else.”

“I’ll get your proof" Jack promised.

“What about John?” Luke asked, “Should we let him in on this? He knows the guy better than anyone.”

“No. This is a family matter and he ain’t family anymore,” Nick said. “No one tells him anything. Whatever this guy may or may not be now, he was a Cobra Kai and John takes that shit seriously.“

Three weeks later, Nick had his proof.

* * *

 

Mikey was getting ready to leave his condo. He had two lessons this morning, then he had volunteered for the air ambulance that afternoon. and he was meeting DD, Peter, and Michaela for lunch in between and

Terry for dinner. He had just thrown the last of his things in his flight bag and was looking for his shades when he heard someone knocking on his door.

He was cautious when he saw his brothers and Jack on the other side, but he managed to hide it.

“Hey, guys. What are you doing here?” He stepped back to let them in.

“We need to talk,” Nick said.

“Why? What’s wrong? Is it Dad?” he asked, concerned.

“No, it’s not Dad.  Dad is fine,” Luke said.  He rubbed his neck.  This wasn’t really his scene.  Nick was supposed to do most of the talking.

“We know about what you’re doing,” Nick said.  “We know all about you and Silver.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Come on, Mickey,” Nick pleaded.  “We have proof.  Don’t make us do this to you.”

“Proof of what?” Mikey’s blood ran cold.  “What the fuck are you talking about?”

“Proof that you’re a fucking faggot,” Jack snapped, slapping an envelope against his chest.  “That’s what the fuck we’re talking about, Asshole.”

He opened it and glanced at the photographs inside, feeling sick.

“You had me followed? Why would you do that?” He was confused and hurt.

“Because, after the funeral, we had to know,” Luke answered. “We had to know if our baby brother is a goddamned cocksucker!  I can’t…, I can’t even look at you now.”

Mikey looked from one man to the other to the other.  His brothers. His blood.  He took an almost involuntary step back.

“Get the fuck out of my house!”

“Be reasonable, Mike,” Nick said, putting a hand on his shoulder.  “You know you have to stop this.  It’ll kill Dad if he finds out.  You don’t want to hurt Dad, do you?”

“I said for you to get the fuck out of my house,” he snarled, slapping Nick’s hand away. “My personal business is mine.  Leave!”

“I told you all the faggot wasn’t going to be reasonable,” Jack scoffed.  

He took a step forward. Mikey swung at him instinctively. His fist connected with Jack’s chin, knocking him back a few steps, but Luke caught him pinning his arms behind him as Nick punched him in the stomach. Mikey fought them off as long as he could, but he fought fair and three on one was never meant to be a fair fight. Too soon he was on the floor while they took turns hitting, kicking, and punching him.

“Okay! Okay!” Nick shouted, stopping the other two. “He’s had enough, we don’t want to kill him. He’s still our brother and he’s had enough.”

Before leaving Nick knelt down beside him. “Mikey, Buddy?” His voice was soft, the way it had been when they were kids. “You know we did this for your own good, right?” He brushed the hair back from Mikey’s face tenderly. “Break things off with Silver and come home to Virginia, okay? We’re you’re family. We love you, Silver doesn’t. He’s just using you until the next woman comes along. Think about it, okay?” He leaned down and kissed his temple. Mikey thought he was going to be sick.

After they left, he tried to get up. On the third attempt, he decided the floor was just fine. He laid on his back and stared up at the ceiling. All those years, all the forfeited happiness, so careful, so cautious, and it was his own brothers. His own damn brothers.

* * *

 

Five hours later, Mikey was late for lunch. Once DD had called the airfield and found out that Mikey had never come in, she rushed to his condo.

After getting no response to repeatedly banging on the door, she used her key to let herself in.

“Mikey, rise and shine, Babe,” she called, heading towards the bedroom.

Peter caught her arm and stopped her. He motioned to Mikey’s feet visible on the other side of the sofa.

“Michaela, get out of here,” he demanded. “Wait for us in the hall.”

“But Daddy…,”

“Now, Honey,” he answered. “Mom and I will take care of Uncle Mikey, but you need to wait outside.”

“Yes, sir.“

"Mikey?!” DD knelt beside him. “Mikey, honey?  Oh, God.  What happened?”

Peter knelt beside him and felt for a pulse.

“Is he?” she asked.

“He has a pulse. It’s weak, but it’s there,” he replied. “I’m going to call for an ambulance. You keep trying to wake him.“

"Mikey! Mikey, sweetheart, you’re going to be fine,” she cried. “Wake up, Darling. Please wake up.”

It seemed to take too long for the paramedics to get them to DD. She’d sat on the floor, holding his hand, alternately telling him it was going to be okay and begging him to wake up. It wasn’t until he had been loaded into an ambulance that she remembered.

“Terry! I have to call Terry. He,…, Oh God.”

Peter put a hand over hers on the phone on the counter. “DD, I hate to even ask this, but is it possible that Terry did this? I mean, it’s obvious that he let his attacker in. Maybe Terry is the last person

who needs to be with him now.”

Deidre considered this. “Could he? From what I’ve been told, absolutely. Would he? Never. But God help the fool who did.”

* * *

 

Mikey was awake by the time Terry made it to the hospital. His fist clenched in rage at the sight of his lover’s beaten and bruised body and face. He swallowed his anger and forced himself to walk over to the bed softly.

“Mickey? What happened? Who hurt you?” He reached out and touched his cheek.

Mikey flinched and pulled away from his touch.

“Don’t you touch me,” he snapped. When he looked up, Terry could see it. The man he’d known even just this morning was gone, locked again behind that wall of pain and shame and fear that he’d spent the last sixteen years taking down one brick at a time.

Buttoned and buckled up. Untouchable. Unreachable.

The man who had loved him through the lowest point in his life, who had helped him let go of the guilt of simply surviving, who had never given up on him no matter how much of a bastard he’d become, was gone, leaving Daddy’s perfect little soldier in his place again.

“Don’t do this, Mikey,” he pleaded. “Don’t go back there.”

“Do you _think_ I ever really left?” He questioned, before his anger at the situation boiled over.  “God!  You are such an overgrown child! Did you _really think_ we could ever be anything? I had it right and I should have never let you in, to begin with. It’s over, Terry. I don’t want you anymore. Please leave.”

“Mickey, please! Mickey, don’t, please don’t do this,” Terry whispered, not trusting himself not to shout.

"Go! Get out!”

“I’ll go,” Terry said, quietly. “I’ll leave. Just tell me who did this? Who hurt you?”

Mikey shook his head and looked away. “Goodbye, Terry.”

“Yeah, yeah, okay,” he muttered. “Goodbye, Mikey.”

He turned and left the room.

DD looked up when he came back to the waiting room.

“Terry? What is it? Why are you out here?”

“Everything is fine, or as fine as it can be. He just doesn’t want me here,” he answered.

“Oh, Terry,“ She put her hand on his arm. “You know it’s just because he’s hurting and scared. Give him time to process it all.”

"Yeah, I know.”

“What are you going to do now?” she asked.

“I’m going to find who did this and make them pay.”

The look in his eyes worried her. She wasn’t sure if she should hand over the envelope, finally deciding that withholding it would only delay him getting the information he wanted. Not stop him.

“Here. I found this at his place. I took it because I knew he wouldn’t want anyone else seeing it, but I think you need to.”

He thumbed through the photos, coming to a slip of paper at the end.

“Here’s the information you wanted, Sarge. I’m sorry it wasn’t better news.”

His jaw clenched. He should have known Mikey’s family was behind this. He nodded and stuck the envelope in his pocket, “Take care of him, DD. You’re probably the only person that he’ll ever let near him again.”

* * *

 

Seven hours later, Terry was in Virginia.

It took three days for him to track them down when they were alone.  He caught them outside of a bar.

“What do you want, Faggot?” Jack swore when Terry stepped out of his car.

“Shut the fuck up!” Terry grabbed him by the front of his shirt, pulling him to him, then throwing him against a nearby car with a sickening thud.  “You all don’t talk.  You listen and maybe you’ll live.  Mikey could have killed you.  He didn’t have to take that beating you gave him, but he loves you too much to hurt you.  To hurt your wives and your children.  You should thank whatever gods you pray to that I wasn’t there.  I don’t give two fucks for any one of you.  You all think you’re big men?  You’re nothing.  You’re pussies.  Fucking little maggots.  If you ever so much as look sideways at Mikey again, I’ll ruin your shitty little lives.  I’ll bring ever skeleton you’ve ever buried out to play and dance with them in front of your father, wives, children, God, and the whole damned world.  Mikey will look like a damn Saint when I’m finished with you all.  And if you ever even think of putting your goddamn hands on him again, I’ll kill you all with my bare hands.  Do not fuck with me.  You won’t win.”

* * *

 

John had just dropped off the twins and was having a smoke on the Sullivans’ porch with Cara when they got back to their father’s home.

Seeing them coming up the walk, Cara patted his leg and kissed him on the cheek before going to check on her father.

“So you all are the ones who put Mike in the hospital,” John said, taking a drag from his cigar and exhaling slowly.  “That tracks.”

“Mind your own damn business, John,” Nick warned.  “This is family business and you aren’t family even if you do manage to talk your way back into Cara’s bed.”

“Maybe not,” John conceded.  He held up his cigar, studying it for a minute.  “You know, in all the years I was in the Army and teaching karate, there were only three men that I was ever scared about what they could do with the skills I was teaching them if pushed far enough.  One is in Leavenworth for murdering a fellow soldier.  The second one is in Lompoc for beating a guy into a coma for screwing his girlfriend.”  He stopped and took another drag from his cigar, blowing the smoke towards them.  “And you all just made an enemy of the third.  Whatever it was that he told you, it wasn’t a threat.  It was a promise.”  He stood up and pushed past them, turning back at the steps and smiling in that way he had that looked like an animal baring its teeth before an attack.  “Have fun with that. Goodnight, Gentlemen.” He made a mock salute before leaving.


	14. 16: “I got you.” Johnny/Robby

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> for @theempressar
> 
> Fandom: Cobra Kai 
> 
> Pairing: Johnny/Robby
> 
> This story is part of Ten Minutes.

It was one of those rare times when Bobby resented his plush office and wonderful secretary at the church. He had been trying to get Johnny on the phone ever since Robby had walked into his office six hours before with no luck and a nice, loud ‘Damnit, Johnny!’ would have done his soul some good. But then his wonderful secretary whose only professional flaw was that she was a bit of a gossip would be calling up the ladies’ auxiliary and telling them how Pastor Brown was so upset he was screaming curses at the poor kid. Of course, he hadn’t told her that the “poor kid” was part of the riot that had had her running all day, assuring parents that their school was just fine. He wouldn’t have been so poor then.

“Dad?” Sophie broke his train of thought

“Yes, Honey?”

“It’s, um, after six. Ty and I were kind of wondering…, we know you’re busy, but we were wondering, okay…,  _I_  was wondering if we could go home  
yet?”

Bobby looked at his watch.

_Damn._

Had he really been dealing with this for that long?

He looked at Sophie. He hated this as much as she did. This having to guard her and watch her every move. She was the victim, but he was having to treat her like a criminal. But every time he decided to relax and relent, he’d remember what they’d found in that sicko’s car and remember what horrible things could have happened that day if Eric hadn’t run out of clean underwear and came home to do his laundry.

His chest would get tight and he wouldn’t be able to force the words out. Her mother would have known a better way. April always knew a better way than him.

“Yes, Honey,“ he sighed. "Go ask Brandon to come here.”

“Yes, sir.” she left the room.

Robby looked up, unsure where that left him. Bobby didn’t say anything about that yet.

“Hey, Dad? Soapy says you want to see me?“ Brandon said, stepping into the room.

"Can you take Ty and Soapy home and stay with them until I get there?” 

“Where are you going?“

"Well,” Bobby said, looking at Robby. “If I can’t get Johnny here, I’ll take him to Johnny. Come on, son, we’re going to go find your dad.”

* * *

 

Johnny finally stumbled back to his apartment about one in the morning. After leaving the beach, he’d gone looking for Robby. He knew he should have gone as soon as he found out he was missing, but he had to get his head right first.

Robby’s phone was going straight to voicemail. He had been to Shannon’s, even though he knew they’d been evicted. He’d gone to the Larusso’s. He had gone to every skate park, beach, arcade or hole in the wall place he’d ever known his kid to hide out. Hell, he’d even gone to Sid’s, even though the kid barely knew his step-grandfather.

Nothing. He was nowhere. It was like he’d disappeared, must have been how the kid felt all these years.

Ten minutes. Ten minutes had taken both of his boys from him.  He’d spend a lifetime getting them back if he had too.  First thing in the morning, he’d scour the city to find Robby.  Then when he was safe, he’d go to the hospital and try to talk to Carmen again.

He’d just sat down when he heard a knock on his door. He rushed to open it, hoping it was Carmen or Rosa with good news about Miguel.

He wasn’t expecting Bobby.

“Look, Man, now isn’t a good time,” he started.

“No joke,” Bobby interrupted him.  “It’s one in the morning.  Do you think I’m here to shoot the breeze?”  He looked to the side and beckoned someone forward.

“ROBBY!” He pushed Bobby aside to grab his son, pulling him into a crushing hug.  

“Dad! Dad! I’m so sorry. I’m sorry.  I’m sorry. I never meant for that to happen.  I would never,” Robby cried into his chest.

“Shh…, it’s okay, Son.  I got you.  I got you,” Johnny promised.  “I got you through it all.”


	15. 25  “What the hell were you thinking?” TJ and Angela

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For @thatsweetbobbyfacetho
> 
> #25: “What the hell were you thinking?”
> 
> Fandom: Karate Kid Becca Verse
> 
> Background: Angela is the oldest child of Bobby and Becca Brown and TJ is the son of Tommy and Susan. I gave them the last name King. 
> 
> Chris is Bobby and Becca’s oldest son.

> _“About to head home._ _I’ll see you tomorrow"_

TJ smiled as he read the text. He was stuck at the fire station until eight a.m. and he was practically counting the minutes until he could sign out. 

He had already spent the first twenty-four hours of her school vacation at work and was now halfway through twelve more since his replacement had a family emergency and wouldn’t be able to make in it until the next morning.

> _“Have fun, Baby.  
>  I’ll see you, tomorrow.”  
> _ 

He put down the phone and laid down in his bunk, hoping for a nap before his shift was over. With a little sleep, maybe he could still spend most of the day with Angie. He hoped she wouldn’t stay out too late with her friends, not that he begrudged her going out and having fun, he was just anxious to see her, they hadn’t seen each other that often since she’d started school six hours away at Stanford.

He was just dropping off when the alarm sounded for a vehicle accident.

Groaning, he rolled out of bed and headed to the bay, grabbing his gear off his hook, he was dressed by the time he climbed in the truck. When he reached the scene, his Dad met him at the truck.

That was never a good sign.  Brass of any kind at a scene was never good.  It was even worse when it was  _his dad_  on  _his scene_.

“What is it?” he asked while grabbing tools of the truck.

“TJ, you need to hang back,” Tommy said, stopping him.

“Why? What is it?” He looked at the mangled car. “Who is it?!”

“It’s Angie,” Tommy answered, putting his hands on TJ’s shoulders. “She’s banged and bloodied up, but I’m pretty sure she’s okay, just stuck.”

“Angie! What happened?“ He tried to push past his dad.

"Apparently the guy driving had been drinking on the sly and still got behind the wheel, and well…,” he motioned to the car smashed against a guardrail.

TJ ran over to the car. Angie was trapped in the backseat, one door jammed in the impact and the other against the railing.

“Angie, Baby?” He looked through the broken window.

“TJ?” Angie nearly cried with relief. “It’s okay, Honey. I’m okay. I’m okay. It’s just the seat. It’s stuck and my leg is caught.”

“It’s okay. It’s going to be fine.“ He pulled off his gloves and reached through the window to caress her cheek.

"Watch it, King, we have to cut the door open,” another firefighter moved him back a few steps.

“Wait!“ He quickly pulled his turnout coat off and passed it through the window. "Here. Put this over you. It’ll protect you from sparks.”

She nodded as she took the jacket.

“Good, that’s good,” Tommy said, moving his son back a few steps. “Let them do their job. She’ll be fine.”

TJ stood by the car, clenching and relaxing his fist. By the looks of the front seat, the other two passengers hadn’t been so lucky as Angie. He knew one was their friend, Mari, but the driver was a friend of the girls from Stanford.  He’d later find out the driver broke his nose on the steering wheel, while Mari needed some stitches in her scalp from hitting a window.

As soon as the door was open, he pushed past the others to slide into the car. He slid his hand between her leg and the twisted metal of the seat in front of her. Slipping her feet from her trapped shoes, she was free. He lifted her over the broken glass and carried her to a waiting ambulance.

After she’d been assessed to have nothing worse than a few cuts and a sprained ankle, he pulled her to him in a crushing hug, then kissed her, before pushing her away and holding her at arms’ length.

“Are you crazy? What the hell were you thinking? You got in a car with a drunk driver? Do you know what could have happened to you? I’d die if I lost you!”

“I…, I…, he was hiding that he was drinking,” she stuttered. She wrapped her arms around him, holding him tightly. He was shaking. “You were really scared, weren’t you?”

“Well, yeah. I mean, most people don’t walk away from wrecks like that with just a sprained ankle. I never want to see you in any of the situations I’ve seen,” He admitted.  “You or anyone I love.  That’s pretty much my worst nightmare.”

“I’m sorry. Next time I’ll check that my driver hasn’t been sneaking drinks,” she promised.

He nodded, still holding her.

“And if you ever need to talk about some of those  _situations_ , I’m a really good listener,” she added. “Even at two a.m. on exam days.”

“I’ll take you up on that one day,“ he smiled.

“Deal.”

* * *

 

Scene 2 because I couldn’t decide on one.

(Background: Chris and TJ are firefighters.  They work at the same house, usually on the same shift. Chris was badly injured trying to pull someone from a fire.)

“What the hell were you thinking?!” Angela demanded.  “You got arrested!”

“Angie, listen,” he started.

“Listen to what?  What could you possibly have to say for yourself?” she interrupted.  “We don’t have enough trouble with Chris in the hospital, the twins having ear infections, and my whole family in a tailspin, that you have to go get yourself arrested? Why did you do it?”

“We flipped a coin,” he said softly.

“You flipped a coin?” She asked, confused.  “What does that mean?”

“Not tonight,” he said, miserably.  “Chris and me.  That day. Before we went into the building. Heads, I go left, Tails, he goes left. I should have just told him to go to the right side of the building.  I’m his superior.  I should have…, It should have…, he’s in the hospital, my best friend may die because I didn’t just tell him to go to the right.  It’s my fault.  I’m supposed to protect him. I have to fix it.”

“Oh, Honey,” she sat down beside him. “I didn’t know. I’m so sorry. You didn’t put Chris in the hospital, some stupid arsonist did.  You can’t blame yourself that you went right, and he went left.” She hugged him, kissing his forehead.  “If you had gone left, you’d have been hurt instead and Chris would be feeling the same way you are now.  Chris loves you and would never blame you for what happened.  You’re not expected to fix it.  You absolutely cannot go after the guy who set the fire again. That won’t do anything but get you in trouble and cause this family more pain and I know you don’t want that.  Promise me you won’t try that again.”

“I promise,” he mumbled, and he did, as long as Chris pulled through.


	16. 66: "Why me?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Paring: Bobby/OG Cobras.
> 
> Fandom: Karate Kid Becca- Verse
> 
> It’s a bad day in class for Bobby!

_Why Me?_

“Brown! Pay attention!” Sensei Kreese barked.  

“Yes, Sensei!” He answered. He shook off the hit he’d just taken from Peter Mills and tried to get back on track.  He’d had an awful morning and Kreese had been on his back all day and it was Saturday, so it was a four-hour class.

Another hour, in which he’d gotten yelled at three more times, they were finally allowed to take a break.  

Bobby flopped down on the bench in the locker room and closed his eyes.  He was already exhausted, and the class was only half over.

“You gonna make it, Bobby?” Johnny laughed.  “Kreese is on your ass today.”

“No joke,” he replied, not opening his eyes.  He didn’t know what he’d done that was so bad.  “I just want to know why me?  He’s acting like I killed his dog or something.”

“Well, you were five minutes late for class,” Jimmy spoke up.

“I wrecked my bike,” he replied.  He’d woken up late and had been in a rush to get to class on time.  He’d taken a curve too fast and spun out of control.  He was fine but had ended up five minutes late anyway.

“And your Gi is dirty and the pants are torn,” Tommy added.

“Because I wrecked my bike,” he said again.

“And you let Peter Mills and Gary Richards take you down with baby moves,” Dutch taunted.

“Because I was upset that I wrecked my bike?” He offered with a grin.

“Yeah, sure,” Johnny said, sitting down on the bench beside him.  “It could be that you were late and look like you tried to round kick a weed eater on your way here, and losing to two pipsqueaks probably didn’t help, but do you want to know what  _I think_  really, really set him on your ass today?”

“I can’t wait,” he deadpanned.

“I, personally, think it’s this big ass hickey on your neck that’s got his shorts in a knot,” Johnny cackled gleefully, pressing his index finger against Bobby’s collarbone painfully. “Because either his daughter put it there, or you were screwing around on his daughter.  Either way, you’re gonna keep getting your ass kicked for the next two hours!”

“What?” Bobby bolted up and rushed to the mirror.  Jerking his collar over, he saw the bright red mark, made worse by Johnny pressing on it, glaring back at him.  He had been in such a rush this morning; he must have missed it.

“Becca!” He swore softly. No wonder he was getting killed this morning.  Oh well. Nothing to do about it now. Besides, revenge is sweet.


	17. 5: “Don’t you love me?”    33: “Don’t cry.”   68: “Fine.”  73: “Excuse me.” (Johnny/Shannon/Robby)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 5: “Don’t you love me?”   
> 33: “Don’t cry.”   
> 68: “Fine.”  
> 73: “Excuse me.”  
> Fandom: Cobra Kai

**“Excuse me?”**  Johnny rolled his eyes, as he lifted the baby boy out of his car seat.  

“I said, ‘Don’t wake Robby up.’ But too late for that,” Shannon spat.

“If this is the only time that you’re going to let me see him this week, then I want to hold him, besides, he was already awake,” he shot back before crooning to the baby in his arms. “Hey, Buddy.  Look at you!  You’re getting big.”

“Hold his head.”

“I know how to hold a baby, thank you,” he said.  All of his friends had kids after all.  “Mommy is grumpy, huh?”

“You’d be grumpy too if you got woke up at least twice a night,” she grumbled.

“You still not letting Mommy sleep, Buddy?  I thought we talked about that,” he replied to Robby.  “I’m happy to keep him at night.”

“Talked to an infant? I’m sure that did a lot of good,” she rolled her eyes, but secretly thought it was cute.  

“Sure, it did,” he replied, holding Robby up.  “Look at this kid.  He’s not a normal kid.  He’s smarter than other kids.  He knows things.”

 **“Fine,”**  she laughed. “He’s the smartest kid ever.  He knows exactly what you’re talking about.”

“Of course, he does.  He’s a Lawrence.”

“Well, we will find that out soon enough I guess,” she sniffed.  “But don’t expect me to change his name.  You weren’t there when he was born, you don’t get your name on his birth certificate.”

“Yeah, I know,” he snapped. “I told you, I believe you.  The family court insisted on this.”  He kissed Robby’s forehead.  “Hey, you don’t think they’re going to stick him with a needle, are they?”

Shannon hid a smile at the worried look on Johnny’s face.  “No.  I think they just rub a q-tip thing on the inside of his mouth and yours. No needles unless it’s inconclusive.”

“Okay, Mr. Lawrence? Ms. Keene?” An overly cheery nurse opened the door to the tiny room they were in.

“Yes,” they answered in unison.

“Good,” she looked from one to the other.  “You’re here for a court-ordered paternity test?”

“Yes,” Johnny answered shortly.

“State your name and birthdate,” she replied, unfazed.

“Johnathan Robert Lawrence. 9-15-1967.”

“And your son’s, Ms. Keene?”

“Robert Swayze Keene. 2-4-2002,” Shannon huffed.

“Well, the charts check out,” she smiled, looking up.  “Now, Mr. Lawrence lay Robert on the table.  We’ll start with him.”

“Why can’t I hold him?” he asked, holding him tighter.

“Trust me.  We know the best way,” the nurse said.  “It won’t hurt him.”

“Just let them get it over with, Johnny,” Shannon sighed.

“Well, okay, but it better not hurt him. I don’t want him like, traumatized by this.” Johnny gently laid the baby on the exam table.

The swab may not have hurt, but Robby did let out a wail at the injustice of the whole thing.  Johnny quickly scooped him up off the table and rocked him slightly.  “Hey, hey, little man.   **Don’t cry.**   That wasn’t so bad.  Look. Daddy has to do it too.”  

He let the nurse swab his cheek and that was it.

“It’ll take two weeks for results,” she reported, leaving the room.  “You can leave when you’re ready.”

“Okay, give him here,” Shannon said, holding out her arms.  “I need to put him back in his seat.”

“You…, uh…, you want some lunch?” he offered, not quite ready for the visit if you could call it that, to be over.

Seeing his hopeful look, something in Shannon softened.  “What I really want is a nap.  Why don’t you take him for the afternoon so I can get some rest? Bring him home after dinner? I have enough diapers and stuff here.”

“Yeah.  Yeah!” Johnny grinned broadly.  “I’d love that.”  He took the car seat and diaper bag balancing them on one arm and Robby in the other.  “That offer for lunch still stands.  You’ll sleep better after a good meal.”

Shannon bit her lip. She really wasn’t ready to forgive Johnny yet, but it was tempting.

“Come on, Mommy,” he wheedled, holding Robby up to face her.   **“Don’t you love us?”**

She rolled her eyes and laughed.  “ **Fine.**  Lunch then a nap.  But this isn’t a date.  We aren’t getting back together.”

“No, I know,” he replied, unable to stop the smile spreading over his face.  “See that, Kid?  She can’t resist us.”

She just rolled her eyes and laughed.  “That or I’m just hungry.”

“Whichever it is, we’ll take it,” he smirked.  “Let’s get out of here.”


	18. 46: "Dance with me."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fluff/Angst Drabble 17  
> Fandom: Karate Kid- Becca Verse  
> Pairing: John and Cara Kreese

Cara looked over her shoulder and smiled.  She had felt that Green Beret watching her from the moment she had joined some of the other women for a drink. She hadn’t seen him in a few weeks, not since Racine and Silver had been moved to the recovery ward. 

She looked over her shoulder again, this time catching his eye and smiling. She got up from her seat and crossed the floor to the jukebox. Dropping a few coins in the slot, she pushed the button, selecting her favorite song.

She walked over to the table where he was sitting and held out her hand.

“Dance with me, Soldier.”

“Sorry, Lieutenant, I don’t dance,” he replied, looking her over. She was wearing a white t-shirt, red lipstick, and jeans so short they were barely able to be called pants. Honestly, he wouldn’t mind her being pressed up against him for a few minutes, but he could hardly back down now.

“Well, that’s where you’re wrong, Captain,” she replied, putting a hand on her hip. “You see, I want to dance and Silver, there, looks like he wouldn’t make it to the dance floor. By the way, if he gets sick from this little outing and ends up back on my ward, I’m gonna blame you. Racine already has a dance partner, twins in fact,” she motioned to his crutches, then to the pilot talking to Silver, “And Sullivan is my brother, if you couldn’t tell from the matching name tags, that just leaves you and since this is still technically a hospital, I’m in charge. So, hoist your butt up out of that chair and come dance with me.” She took his hand and pulled him toward her.

“Well, I don’t think I can refuse such a direct order, ma’am,” he grinned, letting her lead him to the small dance floor. She turned to face him, putting her arms around his neck.

“So, are you going to be stepping on my feet? Should I have changed into my boots before asking you to dance?” she smirked.

“First of all, I didn’t say I  _can’t_  dance, I said I  _don’t_  dance,“ he replied. “And you didn’t ask. You commanded. You commanded me to dance with you.”

“Sorry,” she laughed.

“I didn’t say I minded,” he smirked.

“Oh, really?” She tightened her hold on him. “I’ll have to remember that. So, if I command you to kiss me?”

“If it’s at a hospital, I guess I’ll have to comply,” he shot back.

“Good to know,” she teased. She pressed up on her toes and kissed his cheek, then laid her head on his shoulder.

* * *

Cara stood in the doorway, watching John as he sat by their daughter’s bed, just staring at her as if mesmerized.

“You know, she’ll still be here in the morning, Johnny,“ she smiled. "At least she hasn’t left me yet.”

He looked up at her and smiled, then looked back at Becca. “Cara, she is just so…, I can’t believe she’s really ours.”

“Well, with those gray eyes, she’s yours at least.” She walked over to him, putting her arms around his shoulders, resting her cheek against his hair.

“When she was born, I think I held her for, like, eight hours straight and cried when they made me send her back to the nursery. The nurses kept telling me her eyes were going to turn blue. I hated that. I know they all dismissed me as a hysterical new mother, but I so hoped they wouldn’t turn.” She ran her fingers through his hair. “Come on. Let her sleep. She’ll be awake way too early.“

She led him out of the room.

"Don’t turn off the light,” she said, catching his hand. “She’s scared of the dark.”

“Oh. I’m sorry. I…,” he shrugged and motioned around. He had no idea what he was doing. He vaguely remembered Cara mentioning that in a letter. Weren’t fathers supposed to remember these things?

“Hey,“ She put her hand on his cheek. "It’s okay. You’ll learn. I’m still learning and as soon as we learn, she’ll change and everything we know will be old news and we will have to learn it all over again.”

“Yeah, okay,” he nodded with a sigh. It just seemed like he’d missed so much already.

Then they were alone. They hadn’t been alone since Cara had left Viet Nam. Letters and phone calls were nice but being face to face again was different. The easy relationship they’d had in the past, was replaced with awkward silence. It had been more than three years after all.

“So…,“

"I…,”

They both started to speak at the same time.

“You go,” They said in unison again. Both laughed nervously.

“This never used to be so hard,“ John said, drumming his fingers on the kitchen countertop. "You know, I don’t mind going…," 

"No, John,” Cara interrupted. As awkward as it was, she didn’t want him leaving, even for a night. “This family has been apart too long already. I mean unless you want…,”

“No, no, you’re right.”

Cue another awkward silence. She looked around and smiled. Flicking on the small radio she kept on the counter, she held out her hand, “Dance with me?”

“Is that an order?” He smiled.

“A request,“ she admitted then grinned. "But I can make it an order if that’s what it takes.”

He took her hand and pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her waist. “I missed you.”

“I missed you, too,“ she replied, pressing up on her toes to kiss his cheek. "Welcome home, John.”

Home.  He was home.


	19. 47: "Trust me." Robby Keene/Lea Brown

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 47: “Trust me.”
> 
> Fandom: Karate Kid Becca Verse
> 
> Pairing: Robby Keene/Lea Anne Brown.
> 
> Note: Lea is Bobby and Becca’s youngest child. She met Robby when he dropped off Bobby’s motorbike from ‘Cost and Value’ drabble.

“I…, I love you, Lea,” Robby admitted when questioned as to why he’d decided to spend his Saturday driving four hours to watch her perform at a cheerleading competition.  He hated those. 

They were parked outside her Encino home, spending the last few minutes before her curfew talking over deep subjects, also known as making out.

Lea’s face lit up’ as she smiled. She leaned over to kiss him. “I know,” she whispered as she pulled away. She looked at her phone. “I better go in.” She kissed him once more before, getting out and running into the house.

“I know?“ Robby finally muttered watching her. What kind of answer was that? He shook his head as he drove away. Unfortunately, he couldn’t shake the bad mood it had put him in as easily.

Saying ‘I love you’ and actually mean it, not just trying to get away with something, was a new thing for him. And the first girl he felt strongly enough about it to say it to responds with, "I know’?  It had taken two years of dating to even consider it.  

He slammed the door when he walked into the apartment, barely acknowledging Johnny and Carmen on the sofa before slamming the door to his bedroom and flopping down on his bed. This had been a disaster. No answer might have been better.

After a few furious gestures and one very pointed look from Carmen, Johnny knocked on his bedroom door.

"Go away,” he groaned.

“Sorry, kid,” he said, stepping into the room, shutting the door behind him. “If I do that, I’ll have as bad of a date as you apparently did. What’s up?”

“Nothing.”

“Did she dump you? You wouldn’t be this upset if you dumped her,” Johnny said.

“Not exactly.”

“Then what, exactly?” he pressed.

“You aren’t going to give this up, are you?”

“Not likely,” he admitted.

“Fine,” Robby sighed. “I told her ‘I love you’ and she just said ‘I know’ What kind of an answer is that? 

"From a Brown?” Johnny replied with a laugh. “The best one you could get.”

“Yeah, right,” he scoffed.

“Listen, Lea’s parents are the biggest dorks in the world. 'I know’ comes from Star Wars. Han Solo says it to Leia just before he is frozen in carbonite.  Her parents used to say that to each other in high school.  At first, I thought it was because Bobby didn’t want Kreese to overhear him saying ‘I love you’ to his Princess and pummel his ass, but they always said it. Their first date was to see the third Star Wars movie.  For a Brown, ‘I know’ is even higher than ‘I love you.’   **Trust me.** ”  He patted Robby’s shoulder, then left him to brood, though he couldn’t help but notice the smile pulling at his son’s lips, replacing the scowl he had been wearing. He shook his head.  ‘I know.’ Bobby was still such a dweeb.

 


	20. #22: "This isn't goodbye."

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> # 22: “This isn’t goodbye.”
> 
> For @missviolethunter Sorry it took so long!
> 
> Fandom: Cobra Kai- Ten Minutes
> 
> Pairing: Robby/Soapy
> 
> Warning: Very LaRusso negative. Robby is feeling a way about how Daniel treated him in the last episode.

Robby looked down at Sophie’s fingers intertwined with his, then back out at the ocean waves. It had been six months since the fight at West Valley, six months since Miguel had gone over that rail. Six months since life as he knew it had ended.

In those six months, he’d changed, really changed, not just the superficial changes he’d made while working for Mr. LaRusso. Then he’d just changed from wanting to please his friends to wanting to please Mr. LaRusso. That Daniel was a better person than Trey and Cruz was the only reason he’d replaced stealing and selling Molly for hard work, karate, and trying to do the right thing.

Yes, doing the right thing was better than what he had been doing to survive and he hadn’t gone back to that when his mom had taken off with Rick or whatever his name was. Though, he wasn’t sure how much of that was that he wanted to be a better person or that he was afraid of losing Daniel’s approval. 

Pastor Bobby and even his Dad had told him that ultimately it was  _he_  that decided not to do that, not Daniel instructing him not to, but he hadn’t admitted to them that the reason he’d been so desperate to keep Daniel’s approval was that his hatred and anger for Johnny made it fed his own. It was easier to blame Johnny for Miguel’s behavior at the All Valley than admit that it probably had more to do with the fact that he had been hitting on Sam at that party, when Daniel was reiterating that Cobra Kai was a cheaters nearly daily.

He’d only seen his former Sensei and mentor once in the last six months, when Daniel had shown up at his first hearing to say that yes, he had taught Robby karate but what he had done to Miguel wasn’t the self-defense discipline Miyagi Do taught.

Whatever.  He’d always known that their relationship had been built on Daniel’s midlife crisis, his teenage rebellion, and their mutual hatred for Johnny, but it still stung to hear Daniel disavow him like that. As though his hard work and all that he’d done meant nothing because he was a Lawrence and therefore, irredeemable.

In a moment, he’d lost everything. Broken, beaten, and alone, he’d ran, not knowing what else to do. Away from the life he’d built but as he was learning, to the life he needed.

It was just as well that life didn’t include the LaRusso, he was finding it very hard to hold on to any of his own resentment for his father as the villains in Daniel’s life were become heroes in his.

Mr. Jimmy had stood up for him in court, not by denying his criminal past as the first lawyer Sid had hired tried to do, but contrasting it to the changes he’d made over the last year to show that putting him back in juvenile detention would only make him a statistic whereas releasing to Johnny and having him do community service and seek counseling would help him become a better person. He was sure that it had only flown because Miguel had been given a positive prognosis, but it was still more than anyone else had done for him before.

Pastor Bobby had been awesome, helping him find his dad that first day, going to every court appearance with Johnny and him, visiting him every day that one awful week he’d spent in juvenile detention, even working with the court to set up an acceptable community service program, getting him into his church’s private school since he couldn’t go back to West Valley, and finding a decent counselor that Johnny could afford.

And his Dad. His Dad had been awesome in the past few months.  He’d stopped drinking, gotten into AA, and had managed to be there for both he and Miguel without making either of them feel neglected or that they were being pitted against each other. He was sure that hadn’t been easy. He’d even helped Shannon when she’d gotten out of rehab with no place to live.

Then there was Sophie.  She’d been by his side from his first day of community service when Pastor Brown had led him over to her and told her to show him how to work in the food pantry.

“Sure.  We have food and we give it to people who don’t. It’s pretty much that simple,” she smiled.

“Yeah, right,” he’d scoffed.  He and Shannon had gone to a few food banks over the years and it was never that easy.  It was a long, drawn-out, humiliating process.

“Well, I mean, we do have some guidelines on how much food they get depending on the size of their family, but otherwise, that’s it,” she shrugged. “Dad says it’s hard enough to ask for help without having to prove just how badly you need it,” she replied.

He’d been struck by how friendly and genuinely nice she’d been to the people who came in, keeping up a steady stream of chatter as they let them through the warehouse, picking out food. Not to mention it had kept him from having to talk which was fine with him.

She never brought up the fight unless he did first and she never made him feel like criminal, or worse, over it. She’d been by his side as much as the adults had. She was the first friend he’d had in a long time who hadn’t wanted something from him.  Trey and Cruz had wanted a partner in crime, Demetri had wanted protection at first, his North Hills friends had wanted ease access to pills, and Sam had wanted a rebound guy.  Whether she’d chosen him due to proximity of living in her house and the time at the dojo, or because he would be the best revenge on Miguel, he didn’t know.  He was, however, certain she hadn’t liked him just for him, himself. She’d never tried to talk to him about anything more serious than last names, not even after his mom took off then came back only to go to rehab.  It was all about distracting her from wanting Miguel. He knew that now. Maybe he wasn’t being fair, maybe he didn’t have the whole story but that’s how it felt to him.

He looked at Sophie again. He liked her.  The truth was that he’d been crazy about her for months, but she was his only friend and he been scared to lose that if she didn’t like him that way. Besides, even if he believed what his dad said, that he didn’t have to keep punishing himself for what happened by making himself miserable, there was a very real chance that the state of California was going to hand out a very real punishment. It wasn’t fair to her to start a relationship knowing there was a chance he was going to Juvenile Detention until he was twenty-one.

Tomorrow was the day.  His last court hearing. The day the judge would decide if he’d shown ‘enough commitment to improving himself’ to be allowed to stay on probation or if he’d have to be locked up until he was old enough to drink. He knew what he’d choose if he was in the judge’s shoes but hopefully, he was more lenient.

He glanced back at the waves. The sun was slipping over the horizon. He sighed and squeezed her hand.

“Come on, Soapy. I better get you back so I can get home on time. Tonight’s probably the worst possible night for me to miss my curfew.”

He stood and pulled her to her feet. The urge to kiss her, just once before he spent his teenage years locked away, was strong but he just couldn’t.  Instead, he let go of her hands and picked up the soda bottles they’d had earlier, depositing them in a recycling bin as they made their way back to Johnny’s motorcycle.

“Cold?” He asked, noticing her rubbing her arms.

“A little. I don’t think I planned well for this outing,” she admitted.

“Here, take my jacket,” he offered, slipping it off his shoulders.

“Then you’ll be cold,” she protested.

“Nah, I’ll be fine. But if you’re worried, you can always hold on to me a little tighter,” he smirked.

“I’m sure that will help,” she laughed, rolling her eyes as she put the jacket on and reached out for the helmet he was holding.

“Worth a shot,” he shrugged.

Maybe it was wishful thinking or just his imagination, but she was holding him tighter than usual as they wound their way out of the hills and zoomed towards her East valley home. 

It seemed all too soon to Sophie as Robby stopped the bike by her curb. She hadn’t wanted the day to come to an end either.

“Here,“ she said, offering the jacket back as she climbed of the motorcycle.

"You keep it,” he deflected. “It looks better on you anyway.” And that he wouldn’t be needing it after the next day went unspoken. They stood in awkward silence for a moment, neither wanting to leave the other.

“Well, I guess this is it,” he said finally.

She nodded, then suddenly threw her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. After a second of shock, he returned the hug, pressing her against him as he breathed in the minty scent of her shampoo.

“I’m scared Soapy" he admitted softly.

“I know. I’ve been praying for you and I know it will be okay. It has to be. You’ll be back at school by third hour,” she replied. “ **This isn't** **goodbye.**  It can’t be. I refuse to believe that. You have to refuse to believe it too,” she pulled away and looked into his eyes. “Third hour, okay?“ 

He smiled, sadly, "Third hour.” He wished he could have her unwavering faith on the subject, but he knew guys like him didn’t catch the good breaks.  “By..”

“ **This isn’t goodbye,** ” she insisted, putting her hand over his mouth. “See you later.”

“See you later,” he smiled. He watched her going into the house before starting the bike again.

_**This isn’t goodbye.** _


End file.
